30.01.2026
Energy Club launches the second stream of the course “Communications and Interaction in Energy 2.0” created for PR, marketing, GR and lobbying teams of energy companies. The program takes into account the challenges of 2025 – from deepening European integration and regulatory turbulence to the need to adapt strategies in security conditions. The goal of the course is to provide specialists from energy companies-members of the Club with tools to create clear messages, effective strategies and practical communication solutions that work in a real business context.
One of the leading lecturers of the course will be Maksim Asaulyak, an expert in communications in the energy sector, who within the program will focus on creating effective messages in the face of information noise and on how to transform a communication strategy from a formal document into a real working tool.
In an interview with the Energy Club media department, Maksim noted that the main challenges for communication teams today are not only creating strong messages, but also being systematic, able to act in real time, integrate strategies into operational activities and adapt to changes without losing the essence and integrity of communication.
– Mr. Maksim, you have already worked with participants of the first Energy Club communications course. What weaknesses did you see in the communications of energy companies then, and how did this affect the update of the module in the 2.0 course?
– The vast majority of energy businesses today are faced with the question of how to increase the power of their voice. Because in conditions of crazy information noise, messages often either do not find their audience or do not have the desired effect. Therefore, in the first “season” of training, I focused on how to effectively formulate and convey information messages, relying on examples from my own experience and cases of large energy companies.
But no life hacks, even those proven in practice, will create a long-term, sustainable effect without systematicity. There must be a clear strategic framework to which all communications are subject, so that they are not scattered, but systematically “hit” one desired point.
It is at this stage that a failure often occurs. Companies create communication strategies with dozens of slides, but after approval, such documents are quietly put in a drawer, and communications continue to be conducted “by intuition”. Because they, although written competently, turn out to be unviable in practice.
So this “season” I decided to add a separate lecture on how to make sure that the communication strategy does not remain on paper, but serves as a real working tool that increases the effectiveness of communications.
– What typical mistakes do you see most often during the development and implementation of communication strategies, and what needs to be changed?
– The biggest mistake is to make a strategy for the sake of strategy: for management / customer, to confirm qualifications, to fulfill KPIs. That is, when the (unspoken) goal is to create a “beautiful” document to impress its readers, rather than a practical tool that correctly diagnoses the current situation, soberly assesses risks and opportunities, and sets ambitious but realistic goals and objectives.
It is extremely important to involve managers of all key functions in developing the strategy. At the same time, the document should be positioned as common to the entire organization, not just the communications department. When they “see” themselves in this strategy, understand their own contribution and responsibility, their approach ceases to be formal – both at the development stage and at the implementation stage. This is the key to integrating and synchronizing communications with the company’s operational and strategic activities.
Ultimately, the communications strategy should be transformed into specific applied tools: a detailed message house, a communication activity plan, a crisis response plan, etc. There should be a clear and understandable connection between the top-level vision and what the communications team and the company do every day.
– Given the experience of 2025 – security risks, regulatory turbulence and European integration processes – what communication skills will become critically important for industry professionals in 2026?
– No less than systematicity, modern communications require flexibility and speed. Therefore, I would say that the key skill of a communicator today should be the ability to act “in the moment”, while not going beyond the strategic framework. That is, a communications specialist must quickly respond to changes in the context or rules of the game, but do so in such a way that each subsequent step fits into the overall logic and creates a cumulative effect, and not the other way around.
Challenges and workloads are increasing – and here it is impossible to avoid the topic of AI, without which it is no longer appropriate to talk about the future. The ability to consciously and correctly use new tools become an important skill, because in such conditions they at least optimize the daily work of communication teams.
At the same time, we should not forget: the extremely difficult times that Ukraine, and in particular the energy industry, are going through, create an even greater demand for communications to be not “artificial”, but human, honest and contemporary.
Thus, Maksym Asaulyak highlighted a significant change in approaches to communications in the energy sector: from intuitive solutions to systematic, strategically built work. In conditions of information overload, regulatory changes and growing security challenges, it is the ability to build a clear logic of communications and consistently implement it that becomes a competitive advantage for companies. So in 2026, those companies that perceive communications not as an auxiliary function, but as a tool for sustainability, trust, and development will win.
This is precisely the logic behind the updated Energy Club 2.0 course — a program that transforms communication strategies from formal documents into live working tools capable of strengthening business and the industry as a whole.
