Episodes

Gab Ferree led global communications at Slack, Bumble, and OneTrust, reaching every traditional summit in our profession. Then she walked away to build Off The Record, where communications professionals can finally admit they don't have all the answers. Even the VPs who are supposed to. In this conversation, we explore why 100% of comms professionals are using AI but nobody's talking about it, why reporting to a CMO might be better than reporting to the CEO, and how to stop asking for a seat ...

Can you juggle? If you're a communications pro today, you'd better learn how. Just when you think you've got a good rhythm going, someone tosses you another responsibility. Maybe it's a new social platform. Maybe it's a cultural shift that changes how your audience thinks. Maybe it's AI lighting everything on fire. But you can handle it. In this episode of The Trending Communicator, host Dan Nestle sits down with Abenaa (Abby) Hayes, founder and CEO of Elysee Consulting, who's been perfecting...

How many of us are stuck playing media relations hits-and-misses while the real opportunities to drive business transformation seem to be just out of reach? In this episode of The Trending Communicator, host Dan Nestle sits down with Kristel Valaydon, founder of KV Communications, to explore her revolutionary Five Spheres of Connection framework and our capacity to transform PR into a leadership strategy. After 25 years in the industry and 15 years developing her approach, Kristel challenges ...

We can navigate a crisis, position a CEO, and craft messaging for millions of people. So why do so many brilliant communications professionals struggle when it comes to talking about themselves? In this episode of The Trending Communicator, Dan sits down with Natalie Moran, founder of Comms Futurist, who's built her practice around this exact challenge. After managing crisis communications for millions and working at the highest levels of government, Natalie noticed a paradox: the same people...

What if empathy isn't just about being nice, but your secret weapon for building systems that actually work? Lizabeth Wesely-Casella, CEO of L12 Services, spent her early career in construction wearing hard hats and reading blueprints in the 90s. She learned that communication wasn't just a nice-to-have—it was survival. That foundation led her to combine behavioral science, Lean Six Sigma, and internal communications into frameworks that create "clarity from chaos." What We Dig Into The R...

Here they are again—marketers and communicators worried that AI is about to eliminate storytelling altogether. But what if the exact opposite is happening? What if AI is actually making authentic human storytelling the ultimate competitive advantage? In this episode of The Trending Communicator, host Dan Nestle reconnects with Park Howell, the brain behind the Business of Story and creator of the Story Cycle Genie—an AI tool designed to amplify human storytelling rather than replace it. Wh...

Humans are in a tough spot right now. But one thing remains certain: business transformation will fail without a human-centric approach.

If you're thinking "cultural communications" is another way to say "DEI," you may want to broaden your perspective. Culture comms might just be the key to building trust when the stakes are high - especially in healthcare. In this episode of The Trending Communicator, host Dan Nestle connects with award-winning healthcare communicator Aleisia Gibson Wright , founder of GW Health Public Relations , to challenge conventional wisdom about cultural communications in healthcare. They examine how t...

AI is forcing a real moment of decision for communicators. Make it count.

Is AI a miracle, heralding an age of invention, or the harbinger of a dystopian civilizational collapse? The rise of short-form video on social platforms - empowering creators, or undermining society? The only certainty these days is uncertainty. But...

Are we going in the right direction as communicators? In an era of dramatic policy shifts, cultural upheaval, and a fractured media landscape, how do we trudge onward through the muck without losing our way? Weighty questions indeed. In this episode...

Faced with today's fractured mess of audiences and media, it's tempting to unleash a deluge of content and overwhelm social channels with content, hoping to reach the people who want to hear from you. Clearly, not a winning strategy - and those who...

If change is inevitable, why are we typically so bad at managing it? As businesses navigate digital shifts, mergers, and AI advancements, one crucial group often gets sidelined: employees. Communicators can play a much larger role in managing these...

As AI disrupts and reshapes our interactions with brands and people alike, how do we genuinely connect with the voices around us? Conversational AI challenges us to rethink engagement with both technology and each other. What does it mean for brands...

The future of communications is fractured, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. How can leaders navigate this new landscape where audiences are scattered, AI is advancing rapidly, and traditional playbooks no longer work? In this episode of The...

Is AI the superglue that can repair our fractured media universe? Or is it just another tool that could further splinter our audiences? In this episode of The Trending Communicator, host Dan Nestle sits down with digital marketing expert, leading AI...

Is AI the savior or the destroyer of journalism? As media outlets grapple with dwindling trust and audiences, could artificial intelligence be the key to revitalizing the industry, or is it the final nail in its coffin? In this episode of The Trending...

Over the last few years, at least since 2020, in the marketing and communications professions, remote work has become more of the norm than the exception. Connections between and among co-workers remain predominantly digital or virtual, and so many of...

NOTEBOOK LM HAS TAKEN CONTROL OF THE TRENDING COMMUNICATOR. EVERYTHING THAT FOLLOWS IS AI-GENERATED. Are you ready to supercharge your communication skills for the AI-driven future? Discover how to harness the power of artificial intelligence while...

Walk into any PR conference these days, and it's all but guaranteed that you'll see a session or two about how communicators can effect real business impact. Panelists and speakers talk about how we can earn a seat at the table (even though we often...

I think it's fair to say that most of us in communications and marketing, at one point or another (and probably recently), have been accused of the most awful, terrible thing: committing fluff. It can happen anytime, but usually when we talk about the...

How many times have you heard that career paths in PR and Communications are full of options and opportunities? Maybe that's true when you're just getting started, but for many of us, as we progress in our careers, we start to notice fences and...

Take a look at any job description today--either in your organization or posted to a job board--and you might notice that it's not entirely accurate, especially for communications and marketing roles. It's almost as if they're created to fit into a...

So many of us--especially communicators--struggle to make the case when it counts.  Sure, you may have all the facts at your fingertips, and there's no doubt you feel strongly about your point of view. But when you get to the boardroom, the...