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The 2026 SharePoint Intranet Festival is on next week!

Cai Kjaer — Tue, 12 May 2026 01:36:20 GMT

The 2026 SharePoint Intranet Festival is on next week! 🎉
And the line-up is shaping up to be something special.

This year’s Festival brings together internal communicators, intranet practitioners, leaders, and the people doing the work every day - sharing real stories, lessons learned, and what’s actually working. Here’s a snapshot of who you’ll hear from across APAC, EMEA and the Americas and how they use the intranet as a part of their internal digital channel strategies and plans:

Essential Energy - Sian Taylor
Bureau of Meteorology - Alister Air
Box Hill Institute - Rhi Bell
Boehringer Ingelheim - Stefan Thormann & Robert Thieme
St. James’s Place - Jarrod Williams Chart.PR FIIC
Sage - Tom McIlroy & Sean Zintl
Comcast - Kirsten Culbertson
Resmed - Kelly Short
OneDigital - Ally Denmark
SWOOP Analytics - Cai Kjaer, Dr. Laurence Lock Lee, Sharon Dawson (Mathieson), Emily O'Brien

If you’re working on a SharePoint intranet (or thinking about where it’s headed next), this is where you’ll get practical ideas you can take straight back to your organisation.

When: Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Where: Live sessions across APAC, EMEA & Americas
Register: https://www.swoopanalytics.com/sharepoint-intranet-festival-2026

First Fridays: Signal to Strategy, AI‑Powered Measurement for Modern Communicators

LaurelD — Wed, 06 May 2026 15:59:34 GMT

How do you move from noise to insight when employee, leader, and external signals are coming at you from everywhere?

Join us Friday, June 5th at 10 am PT, as we share how AI and Copilot are changing the way communicators approach measurement and analytics at Microsoft. Amy Morris and Luke Sinclair of the Microsoft Global Employee & Executive Communications (GEEC) team will walk through a practical, communicator‑led approach to capturing signals across channels, identifying themes over time, and turning insight into action.  

What you’ll learn:

How communicators can use AI and Copilot to synthesize signals across multiple sources and see patterns that were previously hard to spot

A pragmatic measurement mindset: moving from weekly noise to meaningful trends, convergence, and divergence over time

How AI supports faster insight‑to‑action—helping teams respond with confidence, clarity, and consistency

This session is for communicators, analytics partners, and anyone responsible for understanding sentiment, impact, and outcomes in an increasingly complex measurement environment. Register now at aka.ms/FirstFridaysJune!

AI for Communicators: What Copilot Adoption Actually Looks Like

LaurelD — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 14:30:28 GMT

Next month, we’re looking at what Copilot adoption success means and how communicators can lead, not just support it. Join Sarah Lundy (Microsoft Viva Engage) and Alex Snyder (Foot Locker) for a practical, communicator‑focused look at Copilot adoption in the real world, on Thursday April 2^nd at 8 am PT. Drawing from the journeys at Foot Locker and Microsoft, this session explores how human‑led change, communities, and peer learning helped drive adoption.

If you missed the session, catch up on the recording, view the slides and Foot Locker's adoption playbook below:

Alex and Sarah will explore real‑world examples like Copilot Adoption Communities, campaigns, events, and frontline‑aware scenarios. You’ll learn how communications teams can elevate their role in the AI transformation—connecting people, technology, and purpose in meaningful ways.

Get a peek behind the curtains and learn how to drive successful Copilot adoption whether you’re a communicator, change manager or IT practitioner.

Sarah Lundy, is currently a Sr Customer Experience Program Manager for Viva Engage has also worked within Microsoft’s own IT communications team to drive adoption of Copilot across Microsoft.

Alex Snyder is a Product Manager for Microsoft 365 Suite, specializing in Copilot adoption and enterprise AI. She leads Copilot rollouts, from planning and governance to training, making AI practical and accessible. Alex shapes digital workplace strategy across SharePoint, Teams, and Microsoft 365, focusing on intranet design and internal communications. As an advocate for human-centered AI, she frequently presents on Copilot adoption, M365 experiences, and the future of work, helping organizations embrace AI confidently.

Foot Locker adoption playbook: aka.ms/FootLockerCopilotAdoption

AI for Communicators celebrates SharePoint’s 25th

LaurelD — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 14:29:42 GMT

We’re excited to bring a very special First Fridays on March 6th from 8-9 PT. SharePoint is celebrating its 25^th anniversary and we are bringing some of the latest announcements for communicators. In March we’ll be joined by Sarah Mathurin, principal product manager and Nancy Handa sr. product manager in SharePoint engineering.

Check out the recording here and the session slides at the bottom of this blog.

Join us for a forward‑looking conversation on how communications work is evolving, and how SharePoint is helping teams navigate what’s next.

This session is for communicators, marketers, and internal comms teams who are thinking about scale, clarity, and impact as work grows more complex and fast‑moving.

If you’re eager to hear the latest on announcement day, be sure to tune in on March 2nd for the SharePoint at 25 birthday event- and get a first look of what's next-aka.ms/SPat25

Empowering Global Communicators: AI, Alignment, and Learning in the GEEC Community

LaurelD — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 04:06:22 GMT

We’re kicking off 2026 with First Fridays on Friday, February 6^th at 8 am PT. Joining us this session are John Cirone, Sr Director Communications and Priscilla Samadi, Communications Manager at Microsoft.

How do you turn a global comms community into a force‑multiplier for alignment, learning, and faster execution? In this session, we’ll walk through how we run and resource the Global Employee & Executive Communications community, build global alignment through shared guidance, and invest in learning and skilling to help communicators become frontier-ready. You’ll also see how consistent programming, curated resources, and AI-enabled tools empower communicators to work faster, stay aligned, and scale impact across organizations.

AI‑Enabled Community Operating Model
Learn how establishing a clear operating cadence keeps the community aligned and moving together.
Guidance and Resources that Scale Global Comms
With the help of AI agents, timely, aligned guidance and resources deliver consistent, high‑quality employee comms at speed globally.
Learning & Skilling for Frontier Communicators
Ongoing development, peer sharing, and AI‑powered tools help community members build skills, work smarter, and stay ready for what’s next.

Join us for an exciting session as we dig into the practical resources, skills and a way to scale global communications.

Microsoft newsletters suddenly in Spanish instead of English

PeterBelko — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 16:44:36 GMT

Hello,
Recently I started receiving Microsoft newsletters in Spanish, although before they were in English. It is from email domain "email.microsoft.com". I haven’t changed my MS account settings.

❓ How can I switch back to receiving newsletters in English?

Has anyone else experienced a similar issue with MS newsletter language, or found a way to solve it?

Last newsletter was with subject: "Dé el paso hacia la IA – Microsoft AI Power Days"

Thank you for your help.
Peter

Executive Voice Agent Playbook—Empowering Leadership Communications with Microsoft 365 Copilot

LaurelDzneladze — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 20:08:21 GMT

In today’s fast-moving digital workplace, authentic executive communication is more important than ever. That’s why we created this Executive Voice Agent Playbook, which is designed to help communicators build scalable agents that capture and amplify their leadership’s unique voice—delivering consistent, impactful messaging across every channel.

By embedding an executive’s authentic voice into Microsoft 365 Copilot agents, organizations can:

Scale communications: Draft blogs, keynote scripts, social posts, and Q&A responses quickly, while maintaining consistency and quality.
Enhance engagement: Make every customer and employee touchpoint more meaningful and personalized.

What’s Inside the Playbook

The playbook provides a step-by-step guide to building your own executive voice agent using Microsoft Agent Builder or Copilot Studio:

Low-code setup: Understand how to build conversational flows, integrate enterprise data, and automate tasks without complex coding.
Tone & style guidelines: Include your organization’s standards for voice, perspective, and clarity to keep messages consistent and authentic.
Security & compliance: Advice on how to work with your IT department to create secure connectors, set data loss prevention policies, and routinely test your agent for privacy and reliability.
Knowledge sources: Learn about the type of knowledge to include, how to connect to curated folders of executive content and how to maintain these content sources for informed, relevant responses.
Actions & workflows: Go deeper and set up workflows in Copilot Studio with Power Automate, Outlook, Teams, and APIs to automate publishing and routine tasks

Best Practices & Real-World Scenarios

The playbook is packed with practical examples and prompts, from drafting LinkedIn posts to preparing keynote introductions. It encourages starting simple, implementing feedback loops, and continuously updating content to keep communications fresh and relevant.

Who Should Use This Playbook?

Communications and IT leaders looking to modernize executive messaging.
Corporate marketing teams aiming to scale content creation with authenticity.
Anyone interested in leveraging Copilot Studio for persona-based agents and workflow automation.

Get Started

Ready to elevate your leadership communications? Download the Executive Voice Agent Playbook and explore the resources below:

Copilot Studio Licensing & Setup
Agent Instructions Best Practices
Voice Agent Configuration
See it in action, examples from Microsoft:
- AI, agents and how communicators can lead the way with Jon Bates
- Becoming a Frontier communicator with Lindsay Powers Tiernan

Meet the Maker: The Communicator’s Guide to AI – Live with Elaine Q. Chang

LaurelDzneladze — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 00:31:37 GMT

Join us for the next edition of "AI for Communicators," a special First Fridays session featuring Elaine Q. Chang—Technical Advisor to Microsoft’s Chief Communications Officer and co-creator of the LinkedIn Learning course, The Communicator’s Guide to AI: Tools and Mindsets for Modern PR and Media. Elaine brings nearly two decades of experience spanning engineering, communications, and business strategy, making this an unmissable event for anyone navigating the evolving landscape of AI in communications.

As this is an interactive session you are welcome to submit your questions ahead of time for Elaine to answer > First Fridays: Meet the Maker - Question Submission.

What to Expect

Interactive “Meet the Maker” Format: Elaine will unpack the ACT (Aspire, Choose, Tune) strategy and show how it translates into real-world comms workflows, including the making of this LinkedIn Learning Course
Live Q&A: Bring your questions and examples from the course—Elaine will address your specific challenges, audiences, and constraints
Shape What’s Next: Share your wish list for future content, including prompt kits, exercises, and templates, or any resources you’ll find valuable. Your feedback will help shape upcoming tools and resources for communicators.

Who Should Attend?

Communications and adjacent roles across PR, media relations, social/digital, internal comms, leadership comms, and measurement/insights—whether you’re AI-curious or AI-anxious, this session is designed for you.

How to Join & Additional Resources:

December 5, 2025, register: aka.ms/FirstFridaysDec
Explore: The Communicator’s Guide to AI
Resources:

Copilot Communications scenarios: Copilot Comms Kit
View our blog CorpComms Blog
Get our WorkLab Book

First Fridays November: Reimagining Internal Comms in the Age of AI

LaurelDzneladze — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 22:29:03 GMT

How is AI transforming internal communications? At Microsoft, building skills to operate as “Frontier Firm”—where AI agents work alongside people to drive faster, smarter, and more impactful outcomes. Join us for our next AI for Communicators series, Friday Nov. 7, 8-9 am PT. We’ll be joined by Lindsay Powers Tiernan, Sr. Communications Manager, who plays a strategic role as a leader in Microsoft’s Global Employee and Executive Communications (GEEC) team helping drive AI understanding, learning, and incorporation across Microsoft, in addition to breakthrough news.

Please find the session slides at the bottom of this blog.

View the recording below or at aka.ms/FirstFridaysPlaylist

Key themes for Internal Comms in the age of AI

Frontier Mindset: Success now depends on how you learn, adapt, and think differently—not just what you know.
Data-Driven Comms: We’re “unlearning” old habits and doubling down on data, experimentation, and trust to shape our global employee communications.
AI-Powered Listening: Real-time feedback and analytics from tools like Viva Engage and HR Insights help us respond to what matters most to employees.
Scaling with Agents: Learn how we use Copilot and custom AI agents to streamline workflows, amplify leader voices, and empower communicators across the organization.
Trust & Engagement: Two-way channels and timely, authentic messaging are key to building trust and driving engagement in today’s workplace.

Ready to become a Frontier Communicator?

Don’t miss November’s First Friday for practical strategies, real-world examples, and resources to help you lead with trust, leverage data, and experiment with AI in your comms work.

Join us at Ragan Internal Communications conference in October

LaurelDzneladze — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 20:51:40 GMT

In a few weeks, Oct 14-16, the Ragan Internal Communications conference is in Seattle at the Microsoft Headquarters. Join us to connect, learn and hear from great communicators across the industry. Whether you’re looking to elevate your internal communications strategy or explore the latest trends in AI-driven comms, this conference offers something for everyone.

Learn from Microsoft Comms

Come a day early to join a pre-conference workshop, AI in Action: The Advanced Bootcamp for Comms Leaders, led by Allison Michels and Sarah Lundy. In this hands-on workshop they’ll guide you on how to integrate AI into your comms workflow.

Listen to Lindsay Powers Tiernan share about how Microsoft is reimagining internal communications in the age of AI – highlighting the focus on frontier employee mindset, employee listening, trust and scaling impact with AI agents

Don’t miss the other Microsoft-led sessions:

Keynote: Data Decoded! The Art of Turning People Data into Comms Gold
LinkedIn and Beyond: Uniting Executive and Employee Voices on Social Media

There’s still time to register with our special discount code: SPEAKERVIP

More learning opportunities:

Elaine and Frank Shaw recently launched a (free!) communicators AI course: aka.ms/TheCommunicatorsGuidetoAI. By completing the course you’ll earn a LinkedIn Learning certificate of completion you can add to your profile.

Upcoming First Friday events:

Aka.ms/FirstFridaysNov: Becoming a Frontier Communicator, led by Lindsay Powers Tiernan
Aka.ms/FirstFridaysDec: Meet the Maker: A Communicator’s Guide to AI with Elaine Q. Chang

We hope to see you IRL at Ragan, but if not, we hope you join us for one of our First Fridays sessions. See you soon!

Amplify and IC Comm planning

MyNameIsJeff — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 15:07:56 GMT

Good morning - just getting started on our Amplify usage and curious if others across large orgs are managing several campaigns, or if you have standard campaigns and add publications. Are there pros and cons that you have found and can share?

Becoming Frontier: AI, agents and how communicators can lead the way

LaurelDzneladze — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 17:38:25 GMT

Join us for our next AI for communicators series, Friday Sept. 5, 8-9 am PT. This month we’re joined by Jon Bates, executive and employee communications leader for Western Europe at Microsoft.

As communicators, we find ourselves at the heart of AI transformation. We are helping our organizations navigate change, build trust, and unlock new possibilities, all the while this technology changes the way we operate in our own profession.

View the recording here:

The capacity gap: why this technology matters now

At the center of this transformation wave in the next 12 -18 months will be the concept of the “Frontier Firm”. These will be organizations which embrace AI-first thinking to scale, innovate, personalize, and elevate every aspect of their operations.

And this applies to communications too – especially in the way that the world of work is under pressure, with a majority of employees and leaders feeling stretched, lacking the time, energy, and tools to do their best work.

AI offers a way to close the capacity gap. By automating routine tasks, streamlining workflows, and surfacing insights, it frees all of us, and communicators, to focus on what matters most: strategy, creativity, and connection.

Four Pillars of AI Transformation in Communications

At the heart of becoming Frontier are four pillars that can guide how AI delivers real value in our organizations, and for communications:

Enriching Employee Experiences

Generative AI transforms how employees engage with their work. By automating repetitive tasks, it allows communicators to focus on crafting meaningful messages and fostering deeper connections. It’s not just about efficiency—it’s about wellbeing. When employees spend less time on the mundane, they have more energy for the creative and strategic.

Reinventing Engagement

In addition to changing how your organization engages with their customers, AI enables communicators to move from broadcast to dialogue in new and exciting ways. It helps personalize messages, tailor content to audience behaviors, and deliver insights that guide strategy. AI empowers us to connect more deeply with our audiences, internal and external alike.

Reshaping Business Processes

Communications is a business process, and AI is reshaping it. From content generation to analytics and personalization, AI streamlines how we work and enhances how we deliver. It’s not just about doing things faster; it’s about doing them better. Messages become moments, and campaigns become conversations.

Bending the Curve on Innovation

AI accelerates innovation—not just in products, but in culture. Communicators play a vital role in spotting emerging themes, amplifying bold ideas, and connecting innovators with the right platforms. AI helps us surface what matters, faster, and share it in ways that inspire action.

Our role as communicators

Despite the promise of AI, trust will remain a critical barrier as globally, confidence in AI technologies is fragile. Our people want to understand not just what’s changing, but why it matters and how it helps them.

So, as we look ahead, the message is clear: AI is not just a wave of change, it’s a moment of possibility. And as communicators, we’re not just riding that wave, we’re helping shape its direction.

In this upcoming webinar, we’ll dive deeper into each of these pillars of AI transformation in the frontier firm and explore how Microsoft is embracing them to reshape communications - from the tools we use to the culture we build. You’ll hear real examples, meet the teams behind the agents, and learn how you can apply these ideas in your own work.

Because the future of communications isn’t just about what we say, it’s about how we lead. And with AI, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do just that.

Make sure to register at aka.ms/FirstFridaysSept We’re excited to have you join us next month!

If you missed any of our previous AI for Communicators webinars you can view them at aka.ms/FirstFridaysPlaylist.

Viva Amplify theme design usage

RMichl — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 06:08:47 GMT

Hi,

has anyone made it working that the outlook channel uses a custom theme ?

we made it work to change the design behind the campagne, but it still does not use it in the mail.

any ideas?

GEEC Out: Microsoft Pulls Back the Curtain on Internal Comms — Live from M365 Conference

LaurelDzneladze — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:16:20 GMT

You get ‘GEEC Out’—a candid, behind-the-scenes look at how Microsoft’s Global Employee & Executive Communications (GEEC) team is evolving the way 200,000+ employees are engaged, informed, and inspired.

This first—and so far only—episode was recorded live at the Microsoft 365 Conference, where for the first time, Corporate Communications had its own dedicated track. If you’re working in as a communicator, it’s the track you’ll want to join next year’s conference.

Watch GEEC Out on YouTube

A Community-Centric Approach to Comms

GEEC isn’t just a function—it’s a global community of over 1,000 internal communicators working together to align messaging, elevate executive voices, and build trust across Microsoft’s workforce. What’s impressive isn’t just the scale—it’s how intentional the team is about collaboration, consistency, and community-building across time zones and teams. From weekly communications and calls to “Tech & Tools” sessions and office hours, the GEEC team ensures members are equipped with the latest resources—including AI and Viva Engage—to support communications.

Amy Morris shares, “We’re managing from the center—the strategy for all employees. We scale resources for different programs across the company and leverage a Viva Engage community to do that. For stickier topics, we have an employee hot topics document that comms leads can reference when prepping their leaders.”

Listening and Learning at Scale

John Cirone, Senior Director of Employee Communications, shares how GEEC uses employee listening, real-time data, and platform analytics to shape strategy. This is communications as a responsive, evolving system—where the message follows the insight, not the other way around.

John shares, “A big part of that is listening—leaning in, listening, and demonstrating that you're listening by responding at scale. We were able to measure that leaders with high comms satisfaction scores were doing this really well: communicating authentically, addressing topics employees care about in a timely manner, and creating an open and transparent communications environment.”

Measuring What Matters

One of the biggest takeaways from the session was the shift from traditional metrics like email open rates to measuring real business impact. Through tools like employee signals surveys and annual comms assessments, the team evaluates how well employees understand key initiatives like AI and security—and how trust and two-way dialogue influence communication satisfaction.

AI as an Accelerator, Not a Replacement

Both Amy and John emphasized how AI is transforming their work. From drafting comms plans to analyzing CEO town hall feedback, AI tools like Copilot are helping communicators work smarter and faster. The key? Start with the problem you’re trying to solve and let AI accelerate the solution.

Celebrating 50 Years of Microsoft

The team also reflected on Microsoft’s 50th anniversary campaign— part of the strategy for employees included a 50-day Viva Engage countdown celebrating changemaking moments from the past while looking toward the future. With global participation and leader-driven storytelling, the campaign was a powerful example of two-way engagement at scale.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Internal Communications

What makes this conversation resonate isn’t just the tools or the structure, it’s the mindset. The magic of GEEC isn't just in the platforms or playbooks—it's in the culture. Whether it’s evolving town halls or reimagining executive engagement, they’re not afraid to try new things—and that’s what keeps Microsoft’s communications both fresh and future-focused.

As John (and Wayne Gretzky) put it, “You skate to where the puck is going.” For communicators, that means embracing change, experimenting with new tools, and building trust. Amy added, “Don’t be afraid to experiment. Trust is where I’m investing.”

The pace of change in the field of internal communications is faster than ever, and it is crucial for communication professionals to stay ahead of the curve. Whether it’s adopting new tools, experimenting with innovative strategies, or continuously learning and upskilling, the key to success lies in our ability to adapt and evolve.

Watch the Episode + Join Us Next Year

Whether you lead internal comms at a Fortune 500 or you're building a function from scratch, this episode is packed with insight, inspiration, and practical ideas.

And if you missed the M365 Conference Communications Track this year, make plans to join us next year April 21 - 23, 2026 in Orlando, Florida! It’s one of the only places where comms professionals gather to talk strategy, tech, storytelling, and the future of employee experience—all in one place.

First Fridays June - An insider's view: Global Executive & Employee Communications at Microsoft

LaurelDzneladze — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:17:35 GMT

In June, we were joined by John Cirone and Amy Morris who lead the Global Executive and Employee Communications team (GEEC) which enables communicators across Microsoft while they work to help scale Microsoft employee communications.

Check out the recording here.

View the slides here.

We’ll be covering some of the biggest questions we get from Microsoft customers and giving you a peek behind the curtains:

How do we prioritize news & information for employees?
In a world of clicks and eyeballs, how do we measure what really matters?
How have we shifted our channel mix to build trust?
How do we balance the risk vs. reward of creating open and transparent dialogue?
What about AI?

During the session you’ll hear Microsoft’s future-looking take on traditional communications and how we’re incorporating AI, agents, and Copilot into day-to-day workflows and to help upskill communicators.

Make sure to register at aka.ms/FirstFridaysJune. We’re excited to have you join us next month!

If you missed any of our previous AI for Communicators webinars you can view them at aka.ms/FirstFridaysPlaylist.

SharePoint Intranet Festival | May 21, 2025 | Virtual

Cai Kjaer — Tue, 13 May 2025 03:44:10 GMT

We’re thrilled to partner with Microsoft for the second SharePoint Intranet Festival, taking place virtually on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. The event is produced by SWOOP Analytics and is packed with expert insights to support your employee engagement strategy and enterprise-wide communication efforts.

What makes this event special? It’s grounded in real-world intranet use cases designed for all employees, not just head-office folks. You’ll hear directly from leading organizations like Citi, Comcast, Prologis, Syngenta, Bauer Media, VELUX, NRMA, AustralianSuper, and Services Australia, who will share practical experiences and outcomes. It’s a rich blend of perspectives from both the private and public sectors.

We’re also excited to feature Mark Kashman, Senior Product Manager at Microsoft, who will present “Your intranet of tomorrow: Friendly, Content-aware, and AI ready” during the Americas program. Mark will explore the latest SharePoint innovations across content AI, agents, sites, pages, and new creation experiences—making it easier than ever to build compelling digital workplaces.

SharePoint Intranet Festival on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 | Presented by SWOOP Analytics – a variety of sessions delivered across three time zones.

This one-day event is fully live, with sessions delivered across three regional time zones:

Americas (click to view full agenda)
EMEA (click to view full agenda)
APAC (click to view full agenda)

Expect practical advice you can apply right away—from how leading organizations structure their intranets, to tips on content governance, change management, and user adoption. You’ll walk away with real-world insights, access to intranet practitioners from around the globe, and a better understanding of how SharePoint and AI are evolving together.

If you manage or influence your organisation’s intranet, this is a can’t-miss event. Register today for your preferred time zone, or all of them, today!

A Communicator’s Guide to the Microsoft 365 Conference

LaurelDzneladze — Thu, 01 May 2025 18:47:21 GMT

Microsoft is once again the headline sponsor of the Microsoft 365 Community Conference, the ultimate Microsoft 365 & AI learning experience, May 6-8 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. We're packed up and ready with a dedicated Communications track, and to help you catch every moment we’ve created a list of all the sessions, resources and must-sees for communicators.

If you haven't already registered there's still time.

Comms & Coffee Meet Up (May 7^th)

Join us for an informal ‘meet and greet’ during our Comms & Coffee Meet Up, where you can connect with other communication attendees, network with industry pros, share tips of the trade, and mingle with Microsoft product and communications experts – we'll provide the coffee!

Sessions and Talks

Explore strategies, insights, and best practices to modernize communications and engage employees. Create a clear plan to align stakeholders and drive meaningful transformation, whether by fostering a strong organizational culture, accelerating innovation, or adopting technologies like Copilot and AI. Gain practical guidance, inspiration from experts, and real-world examples from peers across industries.

“GEEC Out Part 1: Insights and Strategies for Global Executive and Employee Communications at Microsoft” with John Cirone and Amy Morris | Tuesday, May 6, 12:15pm-1:15pm |
“GEEC Out Part 2: An Insider’s View of Communications, Change and Culture at Microsoft” with Amy Morris and John Cirone| Tuesday, May 6, 2:45pm-3:45pm |
“Reimaging Communication and Employee Engagement in the Age of AI” with Venkat Ayyadevara, Jason Mayans, Steve Nguyen and Mike Holste | Tuesday, May 6, 4:00pm-5:00pm |
“Hosting Company-Wide, Divisional and Community Meetings and Events with Viva Engage and Microsoft Teams” with Dan Holme | Wednesday, May 7, 2:00pm-3:00pm|
“Driving Change and Culture: Activating Leaders, Managers and Employees with Viva Engage” with Steve Nguyen and Allison Michels | Wednesday, May 7, 11:20am-12:20pm |
Lightning Talk | “Getting Started with Viva Amplify” with Marc Mroz and Michael Holste | Wednesday, May 7, 1:30 – 1:50pm in the Expo Hall
“Managing Channels, News and Noise with Viva Engage, SharePoint, Teams and Outlook” with Dan Holme and Steve Nguyen | Wednesday, May 7, 10:00am-11:00am |
“Communicators on Communications: Success Stories and Insights” with Allison Michels, Michael De Leon - Eaton, Amy Dolzine - EY, Andy Honeycutt - Atrium Health, John Moore - EY | Thursday, May 8, 12:00pm-1:00pm |
"Viva Connections: Building an Employee App for your Organization with SharePoint & Viva" with DC Padur and Tejas Mehta | Wednesday, May 7, 10:00am - 11am |
“Panel of Peers: Communication Strategies, Best Practices and Lessons Learned” with Allison Michels| Thursday, May 8, 2:30pm-3:30pm |
“Copilot for Communicators” with Allison Michaels and Amy Morris | Thursday, May 8, 10:45am-11:45am |
"Navigating Communication Channels in Microsoft 365 for Meaningful Engagement" with Emily Mancini | Wednesday, May 7, 2:00pm-3:00pm |
"Extensibility Options to Improve Your Employee Experiences within Viva Connections and SharePoint" with Vesa Juvonen and Luca Bandinelli | Thursday, May 8, 2:30pm-3:30pm |
“Closing Panel: Ask Us Anything!” with Jason Mayans, Dan Holme and Steve Nguyen | Thursday, May 8, 4:00pm-4:45pm |

As always, the Microsoft 365 Community Conference is the place to hear directly from over 160 Microsoft product leaders directly from the product teams. We will share the latest updates and guidance on the tools you use every day. This is your chance to get expert insights, stay ahead of industry trends, and gain practical tips to enhance your productivity and work strategies. See you there!

Can Autistic Black Coders & Microsoft do a partnership & sponsorship together?

contact2160 — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 07:00:40 GMT

Hello Sir & Madam,

Please I would like to speak with someone that's a director & executive that is a discussion maker.

Can you send me their details please?

Because I really want to work with or work for Microsoft, and I have an event coming up, would you like to sponsor my event?

Here is my email address, email address removed for privacy reasons

It will be wonderful to hear from you as soon as possible, I need your help please.

Kind regards

Founder | CEO | Autistic Black Coders

Mr Oluwaseye Ogunfidodo

Prompting for Communicators – our April First Friday Session

LaurelDzneladze — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 15:34:55 GMT

April 4^th is Microsoft’s 50^th anniversary, and we couldn’t let this event pass without bringing our own AI for Communications flair by celebrating with a deep dive session led by one of our favorite Microsoft communicators. This month’s session will be led by Darina Sexton, Head of Communications for Ireland.

You'll hear how Darina is using Copilot through prompts to help streamline and improve her daily work. She highlights how she's been using iterative prompting, using Copilot as an assistant to craft communications plans, recap videos and even understand content in different languages.

During this session walk away with tips for how to better prompt Copilot to get the results you need, examples of how Microsoft communicators are using Copilot for creativity, improving processes and developing communications with Copilot as your partner.

Many of the prompts you’ll see us use already exist in our Copilot Prompt Gallery. Make sure to check it out.

Don’t forget about our upcoming Microsoft’s Skills Fest starting on April 8^th.This event will take place over April and May and will bring many activities of AI discovery and skilling.

Join us at the M365 Conferences with sessions focused on Executive & Employee Communications

AllisonMichels — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 15:16:10 GMT

Microsoft 365 Community Conference, it’s not just for IT and product leaders – it’s the premier event for executive and employee communications professionals using the Microsoft cloud featuring Engage, SharePoint and Microsoft Viva. You will join industry experts, product leaders, and hundreds of peers from across industries and geographies.

Check out the full list of communications sessions.

By attending, you’ll have the opportunity to:

Explore the industry, workforce and workplace trends that drive the need for modern communications strategies.
Dive deep with peers to share insights, answers, and best practices for informing and engaging employees.
Take away prescriptive guidance from experts for how to support your objectives and scenarios with Microsoft's tools you can use today.
Learn how AI and Copilot both inform and empower your comms team and strategies.
Develop an actionable plan that aligns stakeholders to drive the change that matters to your organization, whether you want to nurture a high-performance organization, foster culture and diversity, accelerate innovation, or transform your workplace for the age of AI.

Diverse opportunities to learn and share

The Communications track at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference enables multiple ways to connect.

You'll learn, share, and exchange experiences across a variety of activities including:

Keynotes and General Sessions that will inspire you and help you understand the breadth of ways you can leverage modern tools and strategies for communications, employee engagement and change management
Breakouts that dive into diverse topics including strategy, tactics, products, success stories and learnings from experts and peers
Peer-to-peer social activities that will allow you to connect with your team and with peers to exchange war stories and best practices
Focus groups and roundtables to share knowledge about communications challenges and provide feedback to Microsoft product teams
Lightning talks where you can share your story, see product demos, and learn from peers & experts
Capstone workshop (optional) Meet with industry experts Susan Hanley and Mark Rackley to dive deep into tactical and technical implementation, answer questions and develop an adoption & readiness plan inclusive of exec sponsorship, objective definition, technical & business readiness, and metrics
Meetings with Microsoft execs: optionally, schedule a meeting with our executives and product leaders to discuss your transformation and get your questions answered

We know communications will continue to play a critical role in workplace and AI transformation and hope to see more communicators at the conference this year. Join us in Las Vegas for an unforgettable week of innovation, inspiration, and community!