The Cast of Good Vibes
A podcast for internal comms professionals who want to bridge the communication gap and build a more informed, aligned, and inspired workplace.
We explore how visual communication and behavioral nudges are reshaping the way modern organizations connect with dispersed, hybrid, and frontline teams. From amplifying compliance messages to delivering maximum impact on a tight budget, this is your go-to resource for snackable insights, bold strategies, and stories from comms leaders doing things differently.
Brought to you by the team at Vibe.fyi - the platform that transforms everyday screens like screensavers, lock screens, wallpapers, and digital signage into powerful communication channels that build culture, boost visibility, and drive lasting change.
Let’s cast some good vibes.
The Cast of Good Vibes
Glance Media: The Future of Workplace Communication
We explore the challenge of making important workplace communications cut through digital noise and actually reach employees. This episode examines how traditional tools like email are failing under the strain of information overload, and presents innovative solutions using "glance media" and passive touchpoints.
• The average professional receives 120+ emails daily, creating digital fatigue where important messages get buried
• Traditional communication channels (email, intranet) are diminishing in effectiveness as attention becomes fragmented
• "Glance media" uses passive touchpoints like screensavers, lock screens, and digital signage to deliver information without interrupting workflow
• High-frequency, low-effort communication strategies work with people's natural behaviour rather than against it
• AI tools can enhance communication but still require human strategists to ensure messages connect emotionally
• The science of spaced repetition proves that important messages need multiple exposures to be retained
• Multi-channel approaches are essential for hybrid and asynchronous work environments
• Solutions like Vibe FYI help implement these principles through strategic content delivery systems
Check out www.vibe.fyi for more information about modern workplace communication strategies and making your messages stick.
Welcome to the cast of Good Vibes. Today we're looking into something that probably feels familiar to well almost everyone Workplace communication. Specifically, how do you make sure important messages actually get through when everyone's drowning in digital noise?
Speaker 2:It's a huge challenge. We're constantly connected, tons of messages flying around, but are people really absorbing the critical stuff?
Speaker 1:Exactly, and we've got some really interesting insights on this, particularly drawing from the work of Vaughn Reed, the founder and CEO of Vibe FYI. So our mission today is to figure out how companies can stop their key messages from just disappearing into that digital void. How can we make them seen, understood and, crucially, acted upon.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's time to rethink how we deliver information, not just what we send.
Speaker 1:Let's start there then. This kind of paradox, constant communication but a real struggle to connect Are our standard tools.
Speaker 2:email, the company intranet are they actually failing us now? Well, failing might be strong, but they're certainly under strain. It's this digital overload phenomenon that Vaughn Reed talks about. You know, there's that stat the average person gets something like 120 emails a day, maybe more, Wow 120 emails. Yeah, and then you layer on the endless chat, pings, the newsletters, the corporate updates. It's nonstop. It creates this always on fire, hose of information.
Speaker 1:And you'd think more info means more informed.
Speaker 2:But it often means the opposite. Engagement rates can actually drop. People get fatigued, they tune out Important stuff. It just gets buried or honestly ignored.
Speaker 1:You probably felt this yourself right, that feeling of just information overload.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, we all have. So those reliable channels, email, intranets they become part of the noise if they're the only way you're communicating.
Speaker 1:Okay, so unpack this a bit, our old, reliable tools like email and intranet. They're quite cutting it anymore on their own.
Speaker 2:That's a really key point. Traditional methods just sending an email blast, posting on the intranet maybe in another meeting. The returns are diminishing, attention is fragmented. We really need to rethink the whole delivery model. It means moving towards a more multi-channel approach.
Speaker 1:Okay, here's where it gets really interesting. What does this rethinking the delivery model actually look like for teams? How do we do that without just adding more noise?
Speaker 2:That's the critical question. It's not about adding another app or sending more emails. It's about being smarter using different kinds of touch points. It's about leveraging what you might call passive high-frequency digital touch points and, specifically, this idea of glance media glance media.
Speaker 1:I like that. It sounds quick, easy to digest, almost ambient exactly.
Speaker 2:It's information you absorb almost incidentally, without having to actively seek it out or interrupt what you're doing so.
Speaker 1:So what are some examples? How does this work in practice?
Speaker 2:Well, think about the screens people already look at constantly First screensavers and lock screens.
Speaker 1:Ah, okay, the idle screens.
Speaker 2:Right, often overlooks. But think about it when your computer goes idle, instead of just you know a blank screen or a generic picture, it could show a quick cybersecurity tip, a company value reminder, an upcoming deadline. It's passive reinforcement that makes sense.
Speaker 1:What else?
Speaker 2:Then there's digital signage. This is huge, especially for reaching everyone, including frontline or non-desk workers, putting screens in high traffic areas, break rooms, lobbies, workshops, even meeting rooms, displaying dynamic content, company news, safety updates, hr initiatives.
Speaker 1:So people see it as they move around their day.
Speaker 2:Precisely, and it's not necessarily complex tech. These days, you can often integrate it with existing systems. And another one is background wallpapers on desktops. It's subtle, yeah, but it offers this persistent branding or culture message. It's just there reinforcing things gently, without disrupting workflow.
Speaker 1:So the big idea is integrating information into the workday's natural flow, not just fighting for inbox attention. It works with email and chat, not against them.
Speaker 2:That's exactly it. It complements the active channels. Glance Media works because it's high frequency but low effort for the employee.
Speaker 1:High frequency, low effort.
Speaker 2:They don't have to do anything extra. The message finds them. Think about it. Instead of five emails about a new HR program, maybe you have one email announcement, but then reinforce the key takeaways on digital signs and screensavers for a few weeks but then reinforce the key takeaways on digital signs and screensavers for a few weeks Like those cybersecurity tips you mentioned earlier.
Speaker 2:pop them on the lock screen instead of another easily ignored email, exactly. Or promoting well-being initiatives, de&i programs, things that benefit from gentle, consistent reminders rather than just a single announcement that gets lost.
Speaker 1:This makes a lot of sense. It feels more organic. Now let's shift gears slightly. There's this other massive force, ai. How does artificial intelligence fit into this communication puzzle?
Speaker 2:Ah, ai, yeah, it's a game changer. No doubt Platforms like Microsoft Copilot are becoming embedded right into our daily tools. Ai can automate a lot right Drafting initial communications, summarizing long reports, even helping tailor messages for different teams or roles based on data. It can handle some of the heavy lifting in content creation.
Speaker 1:Okay, so AI can churn out the content faster and make it more targeted, but does that mean the message actually lands? Does it resonate any better? What's the impact on the actual communicators, the humans involved?
Speaker 2:That's the crucial point, isn't it? Ai can write a message, but it doesn't inherently build trust or ensure understanding or, you know, convey genuine empathy. So the role of the internal communicator is shifting it's less about being purely a content creator and more about being a curator, a strategist, an architect of alignment and trust.
Speaker 1:So they're guiding how and where information shows up.
Speaker 2:Exactly. They become the orchestrators. They might use AI to generate insights or draft initial messages, but then they decide what's the core message? How do we make it stick? Where do we reinforce it? And that's where Glance Media becomes a powerful layer again taking AI-generated summaries or training points and putting them onto screensavers or digital signage reinforcing without clogging the inbox.
Speaker 1:It really highlights that the human touch is still vital, maybe even more so with AI deciding what needs repeating, shaping the narrative so it feels authentic.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Ai is a tool, a powerful one, but human judgment guides the strategy, ensures the message connects emotionally and makes sure technology serves connection rather than replacing it. Ai might write the words, but the human ensures they're truly seen and felt.
Speaker 1:And that human oversight seems essential as work itself keeps changing more hybrid teams, more asynchronous work.
Speaker 2:Definitely, that shift makes effective, adaptable communication strategies even more critical. You can't rely on everyone being in the same room or reading email at the same time.
Speaker 1:So, thinking about the future, how do we build communication strategies that are ready for what's next? What are the key priorities?
Speaker 2:Well based on the trends Von Reed and others are highlighting. There are a few clear priorities. First, really diversifying communication channels, getting serious about moving beyond just email and chat, incorporating those passive strategies.
Speaker 1:Okay, diversification, what else?
Speaker 2:Second, smartly leveraging AI, not just for volume, but for personalization and data-driven insights. Using AI to help deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.
Speaker 1:Makes sense Using the tech intelligently.
Speaker 2:And third and this is crucial is really understanding and using the power of repetition, reinforcing key messages strategically. There's solid behavioral science behind this, like the principle of spaced repetition. You don't learn something complex by seeing it once. You need repeated exposure over time for it to really sink into long-term memory.
Speaker 1:Well, like learning a language, you don't just read the textbook once.
Speaker 2:Exactly so. Internal comms needs to think similarly. Key messages need to be repeated, maybe in different formats, across different channels over time. Once is almost never enough.
Speaker 1:So the big takeaway here seems to be the future isn't about shouting louder or sending more. It's about being smarter, more strategic, focusing on visibility and effectiveness. Quality over just quantity.
Speaker 2:Precisely the organizations that figure this out, that embrace these multi-touchpoint strategies, use AI wisely and understand repetition. They're the ones who will build workplaces that are genuinely more informed, connected and aligned.
Speaker 1:Which brings us back to that core challenge how do you make communication engaging, make it stick, without adding to the digital burnout?
Speaker 2:That's the million-dollar question, isn't it? And this is where solutions specifically designed for this challenge come into play. Von Reed's company Vibe, for example, focuses directly on this.
Speaker 1:Right Vibe, how do they tackle it?
Speaker 2:Their approach is about empowering communication teams to easily create and share visually engaging, inspiring content that's suited for these different channels and, crucially, they build in mechanisms to leverage that spaced repetition. We talked about allowing messages to be drip fed over time, reinforcing them passively across screensavers, digital signage, wallpapers, all those glance media touch points.
Speaker 1:So they provide the tools to actually implement this multi-channel, repetition-based strategy effectively.
Speaker 2:Yes, helping teams put these principles into practice to ensure key messages are seen, absorbed and remembered. Cutting through that noise without just adding to it.
Speaker 1:It really circles back to making sure your message doesn't just get sent but truly gets received. That seems to be the key. Well, this has been a fascinating conversation. Lots to think about in terms of how we communicate at work.
Speaker 2:Definitely. And before we wrap up, maybe a quick thought for you, the listener, to consider thinking about your own organization. Which glance media strategy maybe screensavers or digital signs in a common area Could you explore implementing, even on a small scale, to start cutting through the noise this week?
Speaker 1:That's a great practical takeaway. Thank you for joining us on the cast of Good Vibes. Yeah, if you want to explore more about modern workplace communication and how to make your messages stick, you can check out vibefyi. That's vibefyi. Thanks for tuning in and we'll catch you next time on the cast of Good Vibes.