I don’t understand why I get frustrated when people don’t seem to understand communications when I wouldn’t have a job if everyone understood communications. Like, my entire career has been in helping people say what they want to say on …
Tag: strategy
Throwing Spaghetti at the Walls
At one of my jobs a very long time ago, at a very large foundation (which I will not name, but it should be transparently clear which one I’m talking about), I was the communications lead for one team and …
Making the stakes feel real
After nearly three decades working in communications and narrative in the social sector, I now have a confession to make: I did not, actually, arrive at this career through an inborn passion for social change and impact and doing good. …
The magic of alignment in work
I am six feet under with writing work and also experiencing the emotional whiplash that comes from being a consumer of political news these days, but since I skipped last month’s entry, I felt compelled to write about a topic …
Messaging about equity and racial justice: Part II
A few years ago, I wrote a piece about messaging on equity and racial justice. As a freelance writer and communications strategist, at that time I was getting asked to write about organization- and sector-wide efforts to center racial equity …
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The Whys and Why-Nots of Narrative Change
I went to the Eras concert tour this summer with my daughter. She has been a Taylor Swift fan ever since she was a preteen; in fact, I took her to her FIRST Taylor Swift concert when she was 13, …
When communicating less is better
It is true that communications is my livelihood, and that I’ve made an entire career out of helping organizations communicate. The term “communications” covers a lot of things, so let me be more specific: I help organizations talk about who …
I want that pony!
My husband, when we were first married, was somewhat….taken aback by what a good shopper I am. Listen, it runs in my family: my mother is an expert when it comes to outlet-shopping, and can comb through overstuffed racks of …
The Joy and Pain of Communicating (Professionally)
After decades of working at jobs with “communications” in the titles, I am now prepared to put forward some definitions pertaining to the practice of communications (in the professional sense), and some observations (based on a N of one–me) about …
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Don’t stop believing…hold on to that feeling.
I have been on small teams and very large ones, and what’s interesting to me is that no matter what size the team, I always found myself struggling with the split between “doing the work” and “writing and thinking strategically …