IPC – What’s the Story? Effective Media Communication for IPC Practitioners (Mark Brealey, www.mbcommunications.co.uk)

Good communication can save lives. Whether through the headlines we read, the interviews we see or the social media content we consume…messages, facts and opinions are everywhere.

This Pandemic has brought home the power of good – and bad – communication.

This presentation will spell out why IPC has always been a critical news story, not just in a pandemic. It will offer top tips to help practitioners understand how the media works and how they can work more closely with their communications teams to get messages out to patients and the public. We’ll examine the use of key messages and evidence to build an honest and persuasive story. We’ll also look at the factors that trigger more challenging news coverage and how to avoid or reduce the risk.

Delegates will be shown simple techniques to prepare for and deliver a successful media interview with candour and clarity. These tips won’t just be useful for Radio 4 or BBC Breakfast; they’ll give transferrable skills for other settings where the priority is to communicate vital messages that help prevent and control infection.