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Words Matter: Fighting the Infodemic with Catherine Knipstein
In this episode, Catherine Knipstein, the Vice-President of Strategy of Athena Communications, tells us why words matter to her. She shares a story of when she realized she was going to translate this expertise into a career. She emphasizes simplicity when crafting your messages when you can.
Catherine talks about her mantra, "Write tight." She also shares her thoughts on the term “fake news” and how it is becoming difficult for us to filter out what is true or not with all of the information available.
Listen to this episode to find out why you should always be careful with your words, why it is important to be honest in your messaging, to be open-minded, and to seek out alternative viewpoints, as well as why it is crucial to assume the best intentions of others and have grace with them.
Episode Highlights:
08:20 - Write tight. Be very simple. When you can use a one-syllable word, do so. Your sentences should be very short and concise. And that way, everyone understands what you're saying. It's a lot harder to do that.
11:30 - We're under attack by words. It's factual that there are bad actors, foreign and domestic, that are using words to try to mislead us, to lie to us, to influence our elections, for example. It's a little scary quite frankly.
17:02 - It's that simple, short messaging. It's being honest. I mean, you and I have done media training together, messaging training together. And that's always our number one rule.
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Guest Bio:
Catherine Knipstein has more than 12 years of experience in public relations, working first for the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS), a nonprofit professional association headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Catherine also worked as a Senior Account Executive for a PR firm located in Milwaukee for more than two years. In July 2019, Catherine joined Athena Communications as the firm’s Chief Strategist.
Catherine has extensive experience in internal and external communications and has served an array of organizations across all types of industries, including nonprofits, municipalities, international banks, national retailers and schools.
Before becoming a public relations executive, Catherine was a financial policy analyst for CSBS, worked in the Office of Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and started her career working for U.S. Sen. Don Nickles (R-OK). Through these positions, Catherine gained knowledge of the federal policy creation process.
Catherine has a Master of Arts degree in Communication from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in U.S. History from Sewanee: University of the South. She and her husband, Jeff, have a young daughter named Nan.
