September 16-19, 2024 • Boise, Idaho
Join us in Cultivating Communications and Community this September!
The NIC is an award-winning conference that offers fertile ground for learning and networking. During this spud-tacular event, you can begin cultivating your community as soon as Monday, with an optional service project followed by an evening welcome reception. Over the next two and a half days, you’ll harvest knowledge from sessions covering topics such as artificial intelligence, community engagement, legislative communications, digital accessibility, and planting your utility as a trusted source.
This year’s conference also features a Dine Around Boise networking dinner; NIC at Night; your choice of an energy services field trip to Boise’s geothermal district or a series of engaging communications sessions; roundtable discussions; Wednesday evening’s banquet honoring the winners of the 31st Excellence in Communications Awards contest; and much more!
Note: NIC at Night is an open-mic talent show open to readings, musical acts, skits, and other forms of artistic expression. Drop-in performances are more than welcome. However, if you’re eager to showcase your talents, please reach out to Brenda at brenda@nwppa.org. By letting us know in advance, we can promote your act and/or help coordinate any equipment needs.
But wait, there's more...
Make the most of your travel costs by staying Thursday afternoon for the post-conference workshop.
No Panic Presentation Skills, facilitated by Mandi Stanley, will run from 12:30-4:30 p.m. Pacific on Thursday, Sept. 19. See more information below or visit the event page.
Post-Conference Event
No-Panic Presentation Skills
After receiving a perfect 5.0 evaluation on last year’s post-conference workshop, Mandi Stanley will return to the NIC to discuss The Big Three: message, delivery, and nonverbal know-how. After this highly interactive workshop, you will be armed with the following tools to present without panic:
- The Three-Minute First Impression: What you absolutely must do in the first 180 seconds to build rapport and credibility with the people in the audience
- How to organize your talking points and not ramble
- The only secret to stopping vocal fillers, including the distracting credibility robbing
- Tips for controlling your body language to communicate the message you want
- How to banish dry presentation openings by moving from audience hook to your utility’s story
- The three must-haves in your opening remarks
- How to avoid just fizzling out at the end by closing with conviction every time
- Audience favorite: Speak Tank Mystery Presentations