I joined in with this year’s #CommsHero event as a compete novice, and was a little confused about how it would work in these socially distant times. I needn’t have worried, as I got a cordial welcome from all the Comms Hero types!

The technology worked fantastically well, as I got to meet the speakers before their talk “backstage”, and ask all the questions using the prompt boxes, all in real time, in my role as a facilitator.

I really enjoyed meeting all the speakers and networking with delegates between sessions. Fit With Frank was a particular favourite, as it inspired me to get moving a bit more, and proved there is never any excuse, however busy you are. I’d love to a podcast with him one day! A casual mention of Will Day from Santander’s cat also inspired an entertaining #CommsHeroPets thread on Twitter. A prize was offered for the best pictures, from a company not even signed up for CommsHero, who spotted it and got involved! Overall, I learned loads, and made reams of notes, which I’ve kept for future reference!

On a personal note, my wife Sofia was also involved in some of the facilitating, and found it a real confidence boost. This came after a period of not working for six months and having Covid-19 in March at the beginning of lockdown. All of this has had an adverse impact on her mental health, and getting on board with CommsHero proved to be a really positive move for her too.

I would heartily recommend the CommsHero experience to everyone, and shall be dunking several biscuits this week into my brew in celebration of a brilliantly organised event by Asif, Lee and all the team.

Alex B Cann

Radio Broadcaster, Voice over, Events, Social Media, PR & Communications.