47 - Jen Hartmann: Director of Strategic Public Relations and Social Media for John Deere

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47 - Jen Hartmann: Director of Strategic Public Relations and Social Media for John Deere

Jen Hartmann is the Director of Strategic Public Relations and Enterprise Social Media for the iconic John Deere brand. We chatted about her career in communications, the state of media relations today, her advice for young communicators, her life-threatening experience with a brain tumor 10 years ago, raising a child with autism and how all of that has shaped her view of work and life.

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32 - Grant Ainsley: Life as a media trainer, the state of journalism and more

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32 - Grant Ainsley: Life as a media trainer, the state of journalism and more

Grant Ainsley is one of the top media trainers in Canada. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Grant has spent most of his life in and around the media. We talked about his early days getting into the world of journalism, how he got into the business of media training, the state of journalism today, where things could be headed in the future and much more. There are also some great tips in this interview for people who are looking to improve their media relations skills.

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30 - Bob Pickard: A conversation with a master communicator

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30 - Bob Pickard: A conversation with a master communicator

Bob Pickard is a well-known public relations and communications professional with more than three decades of experience under his belt. Bob is currently the Principal of Signal Leadership Communication Inc. - a consultancy that helps CEOs communicate authentically by striking the right chord in the real-time now of social sentiment.

I really enjoyed this chat with Bob, who is a kindred spirit of sorts. We’ve both been in the business for many years and it was great to get his insights and perspectives on a number of communications-related topics. Our conversation was 60 minutes and it really flew by. I think we could have easily done two or three hours. I’m looking forward to hopefully getting to chat with him in person once again once the pandemic situation is in the rearview mirror.

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28 - Dr. Terry Flynn: How to lead and communicate in a time of crisis

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28 - Dr. Terry Flynn: How to lead and communicate in a time of crisis

Dr. Terry Flynn is a veteran communications pro who has worked for many years on the front lines of communications and crisis management and who now has a leadership role teaching others the fine art of communications. We talked about leadership in a time of crisis, communications strategy and a crisis that we both worked on in the year 2000 - the Walkerton E. coli crisis. Lots of great insights here for communicators and leaders alike.

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