Today, crisis communications moves fast. Social media can amplify issues in minutes, audiences expect transparency and misinformation can spread quickly.
Karen’s perspective is simple and practical. Organizations that focus on ethics, listen to their audiences and stay true to their values are better prepared to handle difficult moments.
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Social media has changed how crises unfold.
News, opinions and rumors can spread within minutes - and they don’t always need to be accurate to gain traction. A single post or viral video can quickly put a brand under intense public scrutiny.
Karen explains that speed and accuracy are critical. Organizations need to monitor online conversations, catch issues early and respond before they escalate.
In today’s digital environment, crisis communication is no longer optional. It’s a core part of protecting brand reputation and maintaining public trust.
The first step is listening.
When people are upset, they want to feel heard before they’re ready to accept explanations or solutions. Karen explains that many organizations react too quickly or become defensive, which can make the situation worse.
A better approach is to slow down and acknowledge the concerns being raised. Create space for open conversation and show that you’re paying attention.
When audiences feel respected and understood, the discussion becomes more productive - and that’s when real solutions can start to take shape.
Authenticity often decides whether a crisis response works or fails.
When an organization shows it truly cares about its audiences and takes responsibility, people are far more willing to listen. But if the response feels like a PR tactic meant only to protect reputation, trust fades quickly.
Karen explains that crisis communication isn’t just about messaging. It only works when organizations are willing to make real changes.
In the long run, trust comes from consistent actions - not just what a company says during a crisis.
The best way to handle a crisis is to build trust long before it happens.
Karen says organizations need to truly live their mission, vision and values every day - not just talk about them. That means leadership and employees should consistently act in ways that reflect the company’s ethics and promises.
When brands show transparency, accountability and strong values over time, they build what Karen calls a “bank of trust.”
And when a crisis hits, that trust matters. Loyal customers and supporters are far more likely to defend brands they already believe in.
Social media can help - and hurt - during a crisis.
On one hand, it gives brands a direct way to communicate with their audience. On the other, it gives anyone a platform to criticize a company. A single post or video can spread quickly and reach thousands - sometimes millions - within minutes.
Karen says this is why social listening is so important. Brands need to monitor online conversations and catch issues early before they grow into bigger reputation problems.
In today’s digital world, awareness and quick response can make a big difference in how a crisis unfolds.
Many organizations still underestimate the role of public relations and communications.
Karen explains that PR professionals do much more than promote a brand. They help protect reputation, manage public conversations and guide companies through difficult moments.
In a world where trust is fragile and information spreads quickly, strong communications leadership is more important than ever.
PR is not just about visibility today. It plays a key role in protecting a company’s reputation and long-term trust.
Allen Murphy: Hi. Welcome to Behind the Storyteller: A Notified Podcast. This is the series where we take professionals from the worlds of IR and PR - or corporate storytellers - and we give them the mic to tell their stories. I'm here in the studio with my co-host, Caroline Cullinan.
Caroline Cullinan: How's it going?
Allen Murphy: And Pat O'Rourke.
Pat O'Rourke: Hey, how are you?
Allen Murphy: And today we are joined virtually with today's guest, or our character for this story, Karen Swim. Karen, welcome.
Karen Swim: Hi, everyone. It's so nice to be here with you all, virtually.
Allen Murphy: Yes, it still counts as far as I'm concerned. Now, I know some of our audience may have seen and heard from you before. I believe you've participated in webinars with Notified before. But for those of you who haven't, would you mind taking a moment just to introduce yourself and let us know a little bit about your background?
Karen Swim: Sure. I'm Karen Swim, and I am based in Michigan. I'm a California transplant — always will be a California girl at heart. I've been in communications for the better part of my career, so a couple of decades plus. I started when I was ten years old. I was a child prodigy.
Pat O'Rourke: I was going to say five.
Karen Swim: Thank you so much. And I started out working in corporate America in healthcare, which is a great environment to learn communications because you are not only dealing with regulations but also a corporate structure and balancing the demands of so many audiences. I did that for many years, happily. And when I stepped out of corporate America, I decided to start my own business.
Initially, I was going to focus on writing as my business, which is why my company is Words For Hire. But that quickly developed into so much more because I realized that people needed more than just content. They really needed help strategically deploying that content, and they needed help to really learn what those stories meant and how they could move the audience.
So, I have been happily running my own agency for many years now. I love it. I love everything about this profession. I truly think that storytellers are such special people, and we have the ability to not only capture the now, but we are the people that I feel can unify people and bridge those gaps and bring sanity and clarity to the world. And so that makes me feel like, especially in these times, we have a very special moment and a very special assignment.
Allen Murphy: I love that we brought you on. After everything that you just said, I'm like, okay, there's a sound bite. There's a sound bite. Perfect. I want to backtrack just for a moment here, because when you mentioned that when you branched out from corporate America and started Words For Hire, it started off primarily for writing. What was that transition like, steering away from writing? Was that a difficult process to really pull the trigger and make that shift?
Karen Swim: You know, it was. And it was one of those moments where I realized - and you have these moments very often in your career - that I chose writing because that's always been a passion of mine. From the time that I was a child, I was that kid where you give me a coloring book and before I can color the pictures, I need to write the story.
Like, who are these people? I can't just color them. I need to know what their backstory is. I'm going to write it. They're going to have names. They're going to have a history. And then I can color because I know who they are.
So, this was like a dream: I'm going to write, and I'll write every day. But let me tell you, writing as a hobby versus writing for a living - and that's all you do - is very different.
What I found is that with clients, I was writing things, and that was good, and it was exactly what they wanted. But then I watched them not know what to do next. And I had this communications marketing background. So, I found myself saying, okay, let me tell you what to do.
And then I realized you can't divorce all of your other experience when you are doing one piece of that job. You've got to do the whole job.
So, the pivot was easy because it made sense for me. And I, like most communicators, am a natural-born helper. I want to help. If I see a problem, I want to fix it. And so it was a natural fit for me.
And I'm glad that I made that pivot into PR because it brings together so many things that I love in one career.
Allen Murphy: Yeah. It really seems like the opportunity for you to help other people and branch out more from writing was really just kind of handed to you. Having those conversations made it very clear that there were gaps to fill and that you could do this. So why not let your career evolve where the needs are? That makes a lot of sense.
Karen Swim: I love telling my story because honestly, I never set out to be in business for myself. I really didn't. I just jumped into the deep end of the ocean with both feet and had no idea what I was doing.
So, all of the things that you're supposed to do, I did none of them. And so, I always feel like, listen, if I've succeeded at this career and I've built this PR agency that really fits me - I have a love of creativity, but I also love strategy and numbers - then anyone can do this.
What I do for clients may look different, but I am a huge advocate of people really building the business that they love. It has nothing to do with money. It has nothing to do with status. It has nothing to do with how many people are saying your name. It's about building something that really fulfills you on a deep level. And I feel like we're all able to do that.
Pat O’Rourke: Yeah, but not enough people do that.
Caroline Cullinan: I feel like in PR there are so many industries you can work with. So, if you have a niche that you're interested in and you love to write, you can go into that industry without the background that you might normally need. It's a cool kind of niche way to get into it.
Allen Murphy: Well, Karen, thank you. Thank you for that background. That's really helpful because the way that we structure this podcast is we want to start off getting to know our character - you - but then we want to dive in a little bit deeper. And what I mean by that is any story is going to, as you know because you're a storyteller yourself, start with the character and then there's a conflict of sorts. So, what's some sort of professional conflict that you've faced that you think listeners might be able to learn from, regardless of the industry that they're in?
Karen Swim: Wow. I mean, you see and experience so much in this business if you've been in it long enough. But one story comes to mind that really frames this for me and helped me see my career in a new light. It has to do with the crisis communications engagement that I had. There was an organization that was being attacked on social media. Groups had sprung up and organized to attack this organization, accusing them of racism. Some of it was actually rooted in truth, which is how misinformation often works. Sometimes there's a kernel of truth, but then other things get added to it that make the overall narrative untrue. Some of it was also from the distant past, not what the organization was currently doing. So, they brought me and my team in to help them navigate this.
Now, like every PR person, I would much rather be on the proactive side - being ready for a crisis and responding to it. But this was the assignment, and we had to jump right into the fire.
It was ugly. There were lawsuits. People were coming out literally with sticks and fire, wanting to burn this organization down. It was highly charged.
My mission was not only to address the crisis, but also to create a framework for them to operate within going forward. We needed to address the systemic issues to ensure that the kernel of truth no longer existed within the organization. Everyone had to be trained so they understood the missteps that had been made. While the intentions may have been good, the outcome was not what they were hoping for.
We had to train them to recognize that. That meant a lot of one-on-one time with executives, restructuring the organization, retraining people, having meetings, and talking about how to communicate more effectively. We also had to help them bridge the gap between what they thought was an innocent action and how it was perceived by their audiences.
At the same time, we had to bring those angry publics into a situation where they had a voice - a forum to raise their concerns directly with the people responsible for fixing the issues and hear about the progress that was being made.
Throughout this entire process there were many tense moments. Being the person assigned to fix this situation and work with this organization was deeply satisfying because of the systemic changes we were able to make. But it also put me in the line of fire.
Some of those attacks started coming at me personally on social media for representing the organization.
Standing in integrity and recognizing that the people throwing sticks at me were also my public - just like the organization was - meant I had to balance both sides and find a way to bring them together.
It was draining.
But we did the work, and it was successful.
However, months after we completed the assignment, the organization started slipping back into its previous behavior.
The lesson I learned from this experience is that as PR professionals we can run successful communications campaigns. We can check every box, do all the right things, hit the metrics and deliver great outcomes.
But ultimately, we have to remember that we are dealing with people.
And when we think about people, it's not just our public - the audience we communicate with - but also the people we communicate for.
People will either surprise you or disappoint you at any given moment. Changing behavior is never a one-and-done situation.
We have to keep that in mind when we represent clients, develop messaging and build strategies. We may succeed in the short term, but lasting behavioral change and lasting trust require continuous work.
You can never take your foot off the gas. The moment you do, you risk losing the gains that you made.
I’ve carried that lesson into my work ever since. I use it to guide clients in thinking beyond immediate results. Instead of only focusing on short-term success metrics, we should be asking what we are building for the future - something that creates lasting behavioral change and, more importantly, lasting trust and credibility in who you are as a brand.
Allen Murphy: I have so many follow-up questions now with that, one of which, though, is: you were brought in to help with this comms crisis and everything. So, you were not involved in what led up to that point. Do you find, in your experience, that to be an advantage or a disadvantage for you? Because on the one hand, I could see having more of an intimate understanding of the organization and what led to that crisis might be an advantage. But on the other hand, I could see coming in with a completely fresh set of eyes to look at everything from a higher level that maybe someone who's involved directly with it might not be able to have that same perspective. Do you find that to help or hinder you with your job?
Karen Swim: I think it has pros and cons, right? The pro is exactly what you said - that I'm coming in with a fresh perspective. I'm making an assessment based on no previous history with this organization. I did not know them. I did not know their people. And so, I was really able to assess it with clarity, without any preconceived ideas about who they were, whether they were right or wrong. And then that informed our choices.
The con of it, obviously, is when you step into a crisis that's already erupted, you're fighting a battle. You really are in the thick of it. You didn't have that opportunity to sort of take down the temperature before it got to this level. It's heated, it's ugly, it's bad. It's out there, it's wild, and it felt like fighting the California wildfires with a teaspoon.
Pat O'Rourke: One of the things that you mentioned that I think right now is a huge - how do I look at it this way - you mentioned needing to find a space for not just trying to speak on behalf of your clients in crisis control, but also find a way for the people who are upset to have a way to voice their concern in a productive manner. And it feels like, regardless of what era it is, there's always difficulty in finding that common - confrontation isn't even the right word - but the common space to be able to just speak and say, okay, here is why I'm upset.
Because you mentioned everything starts with a kernel of truth, and then other things happen. It gets twisted, it gets distorted. So, it makes you upset, and then you want to have vindication just to have justification for being upset about this.
You, as a crisis communicator, have to come into that wildfire and say, hey, here's what the actual truth is. Here's what I'm trying to portray. But at the same time, let me know - let's talk about why you're upset.
How do you find that space? Like, how do you find that? Because I know when I get upset, the last thing I want to do is sit down and be like, okay, so tell me why you're mad at me. That's the last thing I've been wanting to do when I'm upset.
But being in that heightened environment as the crisis communicator being brought into this situation, how do you find the ability to get both sides to the table to speak about what's going on and learn? So that way you can take that teaspoon and turn it into a ladle, and then turn it into a bucket, and then turn it into a fire hose. That way it is easier, and as you make those steps through and you make that progression through, you can fight that fire and eventually put it out like you did.
Karen Swim: It was tough. So, there were several parts to it. One was training the organization itself to listen - to hear - giving them the confidence that, yeah, this is going to be hard. It'll be hard to hear.
Training them to listen and not react, because ultimately - and anyone who's ever been in customer service knows this - people ultimately just want to be heard. When you're frustrated, you don't want someone to jump in and tell you that you're wrong or that you got the facts wrong. You want them to hear you and then work together with you to find a solution.
So, there was, first of all, training the people that were going to be on the firing line. And it took a lot of work because your instinct as a human being, when people are coming at you so hard and they're threatening you and they're saying these horrible things about you and your organization - it's a daily assault. There's a hashtag about you. There are groups about you.
To say, “Oh hey, now I'm going to put you all in a room and you're going to talk to them. Oh, and by the way, we're going to do it on the internet and we're going to bring in a town hall. How does that sound? Fun, right?”
But that's exactly what we did.
It's also finding - there's always somebody in that crowd that's a leader. So, you want to acknowledge that person, give them their respect, call them in one-on-one first and say, look, here's what we're dealing with. We hear you and we want to continue to make changes. We'd love to bring you into a forum so that we can hear your experience, so we can hear what your grievances are, so that we can do better to make these changes moving forward so that others don't experience that. Is that something you would be open to?
So, we recruited champions from the other side to at least be that bridge. That's key. I think that makes a huge difference. When you tap somebody that the other side - the opposition - really respects, and you get them to see reason like, hey, we want to give you a forum. We want you to come in and we want you to let us have it because we can't change unless we really know what's going on.
And then you give them an opportunity to air their grievances, and you don't say you're wrong. You don't say, hey, we didn't do that, we didn't really mean that. I mean, we said that and we did that, but that's not what it really meant.
You just listen, and you agree with them, and you respect how they're feeling because it's charged with emotion. People are not always logical when they are filled with emotion, and they feel like they have not been heard and they feel like they've been offended.
So, it was a tough process. And again, our team took some hits in that confrontation as well. But we're communicators. We can do it. It's like - afterwards we were all just kind of like, did we just go through that?
Allen Murphy: So much of what you're saying reminds me of effective ways to handle conflict within just a relationship with a partner that you may have. Like when my wife and I have a disagreement on something, both of us are usually pretty quick to say early on, “Hey, I'm on your side. I'm with you. I don't want to be someone that you're fighting against. I want to work with you to resolve this miscommunication that we're having here.”
And a lot of times that does require a sense of humility. You're not immediately getting defensive, and you're forced to bite your tongue and not immediately lash out at something they said or if they misunderstood something that you communicated.
All of that is to get back to kind of what you were saying, Pat, and what you were saying, Karen - about finding that common ground so the other side feels heard, and then they feel respected. And then you finally have the opportunity to take what you learned while just shutting up and listening and then applying it to make sure you don't have a problem like that again in the future.
Ideally. It doesn’t always work in relationships, and it doesn't always work in the business world either.
Karen Swim: I think you said a key word - relationship. And we do have a relationship with our public, but it has to be authentic.
When you are in a disagreement with your spouse or a friend or someone that you know, you really have the intention of solving the problem because you want to get to the other side. That's genuine. You're not faking it.
I have also been on the other side where I've worked with organizations that had a crisis and they weren't authentic and genuine. They had no - they didn't care. They just cared about the reputation. They cared about the public perception. They didn't care about the people. They disagreed with them. They thought that what they did was not wrong. They didn't care how people saw it. They just wanted the heat, quote unquote, off of them.
In that situation, you're not really going to be able to solve the problem because you genuinely do not care about the people that are upset with you.
So that was a big part of our work - really digging deep and making sure that people got it. They understood and that they really did care.
Because when you go into a conflict where you truly do care about the other people that are affected, the outcomes are going to be very different.
But if you just don't really care and you're just trying to put a quote-unquote “PR spin” on it - which I hate because that implies that what we do is not genuine - it's not going to work. It may work for a second, but it's not going to last because you're never going to be able to live up to the fix. You don't care about it. You're not invested.
Allen Murphy: Yeah, you're not addressing what caused the disagreement. You're just addressing the disagreement at that point, which means that it's just going to happen again later on. You haven't done anything to move forward together. You're just trying to be like, “Alright everyone, shut up and stop yelling at me about this stuff.”
Karen Swim: Yes.
Pat O'Rourke: Yeah. When you said unifying champions on the other side, that was such a light-bulb moment because, yeah, you need to find your — I know the phrase is “perception is reality,” and it really is more that your perception is your reality.
So if somebody is having an issue and thinks that, for x, y, or z reason, they are upset with this company, when you find somebody that is well respected and is kind of in those talking points, and you can find a way to agree or come to an understanding, getting those people to help get that point across - to be in those town halls and be those champions - it helps to shift that perception that the root cause is being addressed.
You're not just saying, okay, these flames are down and done, but the kindling is still lit and still burning. And as soon as you walk away from this - it could be a day, a month, a year later - it's all going to flare up again because something is going to happen.
Because you're not addressing that core.
So, this has been such an eye-opening experience because you can relate this to almost any conflict that you're dealing with.
And to your point and Allen's point, relationships are one thing because, for the most part, you're trying to find that resolution together. Hopefully.
But then from a business standpoint or an organization standpoint, that's a huge thing to think about and want to make sure that you're addressing properly.
Allen Murphy: I'm really hoping that there's at least one listener out there who's hearing this, who went in expecting to learn about PR and comms, and they're walking away like, “Oh, I could be a better husband.”
Karen Swim: I hope that too. That would be awesome.
Allen Murphy: Right? And I am curious about something else. I don't mean to digress a little bit, but you had mentioned when we first started this conversation that you've been in the PR world for a little bit over 20 years now. Especially with regard to crisis comms, I have to imagine that as social media exploded over the last 20 to 25 years, and as more and more people feel emboldened to share their opinions publicly and loudly, how have you seen that affect crisis comms? Has there been a huge influx of a need for someone with your specialty? And do you see that continuing to evolve over time?
Karen Swim: Absolutely. And it's why, with every client, we like to have a proactive crisis communications plan that covers social media. So, we insist on social listening, because if you catch things when they're just bubbling up, then you're able to, again, turn down the temperature and manage it.
But if you let it go because you missed it and you're not paying attention, you can't really address it quickly enough. Speed and accuracy are key these days because information spreads so quickly, and the information doesn't have to be right.
Things spread across the internet so fast, and then it's out of control. So, if something is happening, you need to address it. If there's something that keeps coming up, then there are things that you can do, such as having an FAQ or having messaging built into everything that addresses the things that people normally get wrong.
But yeah, social media brought an aspect to our jobs that was beautiful - having a channel where we had more direct interaction with our publics. But the downside, of course, is that everyone has a platform, and they can say whatever they want to say.
Unfortunately, everyone is not as invested in fact-checking or talking. If you have a problem with an organization, not everybody goes to the organization and says, “Hey, I have this issue with how you're doing things.” They take it to the internet. They'd rather share it with 10,000 people than one person and actually get it resolved.
They want a platform. They want to make a TikTok about it. They want to go viral from it. So, it's a fast-moving business these days.
Allen Murphy: Yeah, absolutely. A double-edged sword. Because with so many people being empowered to have these voices and share their opinions, on the plus side, you're getting so much of the good and you're hearing about what's being done right, and you're hearing about what people appreciate about an organization.
But then on the far other end of the spectrum, not only are you hearing criticisms, but you're hearing them in some of the loudest, sometimes meanest ways that people can imagine because they have a screen between them and anyone else. So, they feel as if they can say whatever they want.
So yeah, from a crisis comms perspective, I see that as a blessing just as much as a curse in a lot of ways.
Karen Swim: Yeah. And I mean, I always tell brands that there are two things that you can do to safeguard yourself.
One is that you really have to live your mission, vision, and values from the basement to the boardroom. That means always operating from a position of ethics. Be who you say you are all the time.
And then have mechanisms within your organization that listen when someone or some policy doesn't adhere to that. So, you need to have those checks and balances. You need to not make it punitive if someone speaks up like, “Hey, we're doing this, and this doesn't really jibe with what we said we're about.” You need to hear that out and have a process for carrying that out internally.
So, if you're always ethical and you are so clear on who you are, your audience will always be clear on who you are. That means that you're constantly depositing into that bank of trust.
So, if someone does attack you, champions will rise up to support you because you've been consistent. You are who you say you are. They know. They're like, “No, that organization would never do that. No, they didn't do that. No, they didn't say that. I don't think that's right.”
They'll question it. They'll share stories that will support you. And it makes it easier because we cannot avoid crisis in this day and age. It will happen. It's not like, will it? No - it will.
But what will you do? Will you be prepared for it? Will you be prepared when you're attacked? Because you're going to make someone mad at some point, and it's probably going to be more than once.
And sometimes it's something innocent. It could be that you use the color blue in an ad in the wrong month of the year, and then all of a sudden, you're like, “We just used blue. What do we do next?”
Pat O'Rourke: Because unfortunately, it doesn't mean somebody attacking you on social media or somebody having a grievance and taking it to TikTok or their platform, to your point, because they want to go viral.
Most of the time they're not wanting a resolution. Most times they just want to complain. They want to make money off of it. They want fame from it. They don't care.
Going to that person or, as you said, going to one person and getting a resolution would be easier, but it's not as flashy. It's not going to be as profitable for them because they don't care about the resolution. They just want to be heard and make something from that.
Karen Swim: Yeah. And they tap into other people who want the same thing. Like, “I'm going to jump in on that. Yeah, they stink.” Right?
Were you talking about the same company? Because you just mentioned something that they don't even offer.
Pat O'Rourke: But also, to your point, just as a quick aside, we're talking a lot from a PR perspective, but even from an investor relations perspective, crisis comms and doing social listening — we obviously know a lot about that from our jobs here. Across the board, no matter what kind of corporate storyteller or corporate communications you're doing, whether it's solely public relations or you're on the investor relations side keeping track of what's going on so you can see what is happening and get ahead of it - hopefully so it doesn't turn into a crisis situation that you have to deal with - is hugely important.
A lot of times, I know from my perspective or from my experience so far, on the investor relations side it's like, “Why do we need that?” It almost becomes even more important to deal with from a crisis communications standpoint because you're dealing with a publicly traded company, shares, stakeholders - you're going to have so many other people that you're responsible to when dealing with that crisis when it blows up. Because as you said, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when something will happen.
Pat O'Rourke: You need to be on top of that. So that's a huge point to anybody out there listening right now: stay on top of things. No matter how you are monitoring that, be aware of what people are saying about you online, because it takes one video on TikTok that just happens to get in front of the right people to suddenly blow up and have millions of views, likes, and shares. Then you're dealing with something that could have been mitigated much earlier if you'd been paying attention.
Caroline Cullinan: It reminds me how important PR professionals are. You're talking about the morals and ethics of a business from the beginning. Yes, things might pop up, but you've talked about authenticity so much today, and I think having that in businesses is so important. So, when these TikTok trends flare up, you're not worried about it because your morals and your ethics are where they were from the beginning.
Allen Murphy: You've earned the benefit of the doubt. Yeah, if you're demonstrating a strong code of ethics for the wider world out there, then if and when there is that one TikTok or tweet or whatever it is that starts to bubble up, it's not going to boil over. Because, Karen, to your point earlier, there will be more champions for that organization who have seen a demonstrated sense of consistent, strong ethics and morals. They'll be like, “Maybe let's stop and think for a little bit before we all start joining hashtag down with whatever company.”
Karen Swim: And I think that makes the case for, as you said, having the tools to be able to stay on top of these things. That's vital. But then organizations also need to commit to investing in the ongoing work that communicators do.
We live in an age where people sometimes see PR and marketing in the same bucket and view them as expendable. Both have very important functions beyond just revenue. It can mean your entire business.
These are deep issues that these professionals are working on. So, it pays to really look at this resource a little differently and understand that it is a key part of your strategy. It helps keep you honest with yourself and protects your brand reputation.
Without trust these days - and we already know there's lots of data out there to support this - brand loyalty is not what it used to be. People aren't loyal, especially in challenging economic times. They're going to look for another solution, and you're just going to be one of many.
So, trust is super important. And one way to start that is by being trustworthy.
Allen Murphy: Karen, this has been fantastic. I'm sure you have so many other stories, and I hope we can convince you to come back on a future episode to hear some more, because there's so much, we can learn from your experience.
Before we wrap things up today, for anyone out there listening who might be putting off coloring in a coloring book because they're busy writing the story and thinking, “Okay, what can I do with these storytelling skills that I naturally have?” - what would be one final takeaway that you would love to share with the audience today?
Karen Swim: First of all, believe that you're good enough to do it and that you have something you can share with organizations.
I'm huge on leaning into your talents and the things that really light you up. That's big, because when you find that thing that brings you so much joy, you can honestly turn that into your career superpower.
That's the thing you will be able to offer to an employer - or, if you want to go out on your own, into a business. You really can shape it around that thing you're not only good at but that you truly love - the thing that makes you light up when you talk about it. You light up when you're doing it. You could lose yourself in that moment forever.
So don't be afraid, and don't feel like your career has to look like anyone else's. Sometimes we compare ourselves and think, “Is this normal?” But PR people do this well - you don't have to look like everybody else.
You can just use what you have to be great at that. Continue to develop it, continue to lean into it, shape it, refine it, find ways to grow in it, and build a career that makes you happy.
Allen Murphy: Sounds exactly like your career. You left the corporate world, went off on your own, and then really honed in on those skills - and here you are today. So that's wonderful. Thank you so much, Karen.
Karen Swim: Thank you.
Allen Murphy: Well, for everyone else listening at home, thank you so much for tuning in. If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe or follow us on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube, and check us out on LinkedIn.
And Karen, please come back - we would love to continue a conversation like this in the future.
Karen Swim: Thank you so much.
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