About Mel Loy

Mel Loy is a Brisbane-based keynote speaker, facilitator and coach who helps leaders and teams communicate through change and uncertainty. She's the founder of Cuttlefish Communications, author of Change Isn't Hard and Less Chatter, More Matter, and host of the Less Chatter, More Matter podcast.

Hi, I'm Mel (Melanie when it's "official business")! I'm a former corporate communication executive who took a redundancy, started my own business and never looked back. Now I run Cuttlefish Communications, a communication agency with a team of incredible professionals doing big things for organisations of all shapes and sizes. And I travel Australia and the world, speaking and facilitating workshops.

But before all of this happened, I knew I wasn’t cut out for the corporate life. I loved creating training programs to build people’s comms skills; facilitating meetings to get to a clear framework or path forward; and developing creative and thoughtful communication strategies. And I knew I could do a lot more of what I loved, working with diverse brands, if I left the safety blanket of a full-time job behind and ventured out on my own. I craved more flexibility, less hierarchy, and a lot more adventure!

It’s been a lot of hard lessons learned, but also some incredible wins and opportunities. And I’m proud to say I’ve built a reputation along the way for being someone who can engage people at all levels of experience, and help cut through the overwhelm to create clarity.

When I’m not doing all of that, I love training at the gym, and teaching group fitness. I’m also a qualified yoga teacher and personal trainer, and love using these skills to empower people to feel their strongest selves, inside and out.

Mel at a glance

Based in: Brisbane, Australia, working across Australia and the Asia Pacific, and internationally
Speaks and facilitates on: change communication, working in uncertainty, curiosity at work, and leadership communication
Founder of: Cuttlefish Communications, est. 2020
Author of: Change Isn't Hard and Less Chatter, More Matter, with a third book on curiosity on the way
Host of: the Less Chatter, More Matter podcast
Creator of: the EPIC Change Communication Framework
Professional Associations: Board Member, IABC Asia-Pacific; past President, IABC Queensland; facilitator, IABC APAC Academy; Facilitator, Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence
Spoken at: IABC World Conference (Toronto and Vancouver), IABC Asia Pacific Fusion, Rethink Change, Australasian Change Days, and more.
Experience: 20+ years in corporate communication across emergency services, government, not-for-profit, infrastructure, construction and financial services

Smiling woman with blonde hair and purple streaks, wearing a green sleeveless top, sitting on a beige couch and pointing with her right hand, in a living room with plants and framed pictures in the background.

My superpowers

One of my key superpowers that makes my speaking, coaching, and facilitating work, is my ability to take complex ideas (or even just a LOT of ideas), and get it down into a visual, clear framework that makes sense.

Forget seeing a PowerPoint pack hundreds of slides long. Instead, imagine live sketchnoting, or bold, fun hand-drawn visuals that bring it all together in a picture nobody will forget!

I have an ability to listen to the problem you’re trying to solve, and then come up with a simple, visual framework that helps you to make the decisions required to solve that problem.

My other superpower is my energy! Thanks to years of teaching group fitness and leading teams, I know how to get people’s attention, and keep the room on track, while at the same time empowering others to speak up. I know how to make people laugh, and keep the vibe where we need it to get the outcome you want.

Connect with me on the socials!

Find me on LinkedIn and Instagram.

My books

Change Isn't Hard: a practical playbook for people-centred change communication.

A step-by-step guide to communicating change in a way that brings people with you.

Less Chatter, More Matter: the SKILLS to get your communication to cut through the noise.

Practical skills to make your communication clearer, more engaging and more effective.

Click here to get the books

Covers of Change Isn't Hard and Less Chatter, More Matter, by Mel Loy

My credentials

Certifications

Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP)
Creator of the Certified Change Communication Professional program, Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence

Qualifications

Honours degree, researching change communication in aged care (in progress)
Graduate Certificate in Behavioural Insights, University of Tasmania (2024)
Diploma of Organisational Change Management, Australian Institute of Management (2015)
Graduate Certificate in Professional Communication, University of Queensland (2009)
Bachelor of Journalism / Bachelor of Arts (English, Political Science), University of Queensland (2005)

Professional roles

Board Member, IABC Asia-Pacific Region
Past President, IABC Queensland Chapter
Facilitator, IABC APAC Academy
Facilitator, Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence, including the Certified Change Communication Professional program

And for the record, I’m also a qualified Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor! My CPR and First Aid is up to date too, just in case...