executive communications professionals should print out these 3 calendars each week
In the last decade the role of a speechwriter has transformed. Our jobs used to be keynotes and that was it.
Then the pandemic happened and the amount CEOs needed to communicate with employees expanded exponentially, so internal communications was added to our responsibilities. Many people are back in the office, but Zoom hasn’t gone away so now CEOs are now able to pack more engagements onto their schedule than ever before: Virtual events means they can (almost) be in two places at once.
Our roles have become all encompassing: Internal communications, external communications, social media… if the CEO is involved, you can bet the speechwriter is too. This is great news for anyone in the speechwriting/executive communications world - our skills are in hot demand. But it can be hard to stay on top of everything.
So as a speechwriter or executive communications leader, how do you stay organised, strategic, and source new content?
CEO’s Block Calendar
Aaaah, the block calendar. The most underrated tool, but my personal favourite. This is four months to a page… yes, you read that right: Four months on a single side! All travel, major company events, keynote speeches and holidays should be marked on there. If you want to be fancy you can colour code it. For company events think earnings calls, major announcements/launches, or town halls. Lunch with a resource network doesn’t count. This document is SO helpful for strategic planning. You can see - at a glance - when the CEO is speaking next, what country they’re in, and whether the invite they just received collides with the quarterly earnings call.
CEO’s Editorial Calendar
I personally like to do these in Excel, although I know there are a million other tools out there. I include all CEO communications — think keynotes, fireside chats, LinkedIn posts, town halls, video recordings etc. If your CEO is focussed on a particular channel, for example they post regularly to LinkedIn or send a weekly email to employees, you might want to break that out onto a separate sheet. If you do that, make columns for theme and engagement metrics so you can easily map which posts get traction and ensure a good mix of content. Clearly marking weekends/months on the calendar will also help you see how regularly you’re posting.
I might try and create a downloadable template for readers. Let me know if that would be useful.
Communications and/or Marketing Editorial Calendar
If your organisation produces a lot of content or thought leadership, you need to know what’s being published when and by whom. If your marketing or communications team has a regular editorial planning meeting to review the calendar, it’s worth attending - maybe not every week, but at least once a month. That way you know what’s coming up and you can highlight any golden nuggets in the CEO’s next speech.
When I worked in-house, I would print these calendars out and take the first two with me EVERYWHERE. But they should also be living documents that sit on a shared drive and are regularly updated by a designated person.
Final pro tip: Mark on the calendar in red, the date and time it was last updated.
