A chat with Roger D'Aprix

By Sona Hathi, Assistant Editor, Melcrum

It's an exciting time at the Melcrum office in London as we're all gearing up for the 7th Annual SCM Summit UK taking place this week on Wednesday in London. It's going to be an action packed two days - and I'm especially excited about the after party on the first day! But I'm feeling a little sorry for myself. If you've come along to any Melcrum events in the past two years you would have probably seen someone cheekily sneaking around with a microphone in hand, pouncing on people for "quick chats" during the coffee break - yep that's me. But I've only gone and lost my voice this week!

Now, I love chatting to people at our events, it's fascinating to hear about some of the work you've all been doing. But I'm always surprised at the reluctance I often find. Shouldn't a room full of communicators be happy and willing to - well - communicate? Anyway, I accept that even the most talkative people can shy away from a microphone, but here's what I say, if you see me with my mic, firstly it means I have my voice back (!) and secondly, don't feel shy to offload! I want to hear about the communication challenges you're facing and the acheivements you've made in your role. Learning this not only enriches our understanding of what you want and need from the research team at Melcrum but also, it's all about sharing best practice with other communicators. And we'll do this by maybe using your interview in a podcast (with your full permission of course).

One man who's definitely not afraid of the mic is Roger D'Aprix, Vice President of ROI Communication and key note speaker at the SCM Summit. Roger spoke to me via skype from across the Atlantic a few weeks ago (back when I was audible) about his new book, The Credible Company: Communicating with a Skeptical Workforce and gave me a quick snapshot of his presentation. Plug in your headphones and have a quick listen.

So finally, I look forward to seeing and speaking with many of you at the SCM Summit later in the week. And remember, please don't run away from my mic - it won't bite and your story may be of great value to your fellow communicators!

See you soon!