The age-old saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” implies that it’s impossible for individuals with established habits or routines to adapt to new ideas or technologies. However, in the ever-evolving world of communication, this saying has become outdated. With the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its integration into various aspects of our lives, it has become possible to teach even the “oldest dogs” new tricks. As an old dog that has been around the block a few times, I am exploring the role of AI in communications and how it is reshaping the way we interact with each other – in other words, I am learning a few new tricks!

In a series of short articles, I would like to look back on some of the highlights and the transformation in communications over the last 30 years as a reminder of how far we have progressed. Afterwards I’ll focus on the impact that AI is making and take a sneak peek into the crystal ball, trying to predict the communications journey in the near future.

In this article, I will focus on communications activities during the 1980s-1990s.

• Communications primarily relied on traditional methods such as memos, newsletters, and printed materials. Intranets and email systems slowly started to emerge but were not yet widely adopted. Those were the days when you posted a news release to a magazine/newspaper and included photographs separately. Laying out a newsletter or inhouse magazine had to be done professionally and it was very expensive to make late changes.
• Many companies operated in localized environments, with face-to-face meetings and printed memos as the primary means of communicating. This resulted in internal communications being mostly top-down, with little opportunity for employee feedback.
• There were often delays in sharing information due to reliance on physical documents and meetings, which made communicating in parallel in different media channels very difficult. This impacted negatively on real-time communication and collaboration.
• Measuring the impact of internal communications was challenging, with limited tools for tracking engagement and feedback. Measuring external communication was done using a news clipping service that sometimes included a positive/negative analysis.

In summary, communications have evolved significantly over the last 30 years. Internal communications have transitioned from traditional, one-way communication to dynamic, real-time, and personalized interactions made possible by digital technologies. External communications have also evolved significantly, shifting from traditional methods such as printed media and phone calls to relying on email, social media, and instant messaging for faster communication, enabling organizations and individuals to reach wider audiences and collaborate more efficiently across the world.

Next time, I’ll talk about the 2000s.