In this episode of frankly…
Dan and Rachel break down what it takes to be a strong communicator in 2026, as the industry continues to evolve alongside emerging technology.
Our frankly… duo shares where AI can make communicators more efficient and where it falls short, comparing it to a copilot that supports the work, rather than taking it over entirely.
They discuss the importance of training AI tools on your own voice and tone, and why soft skills like curiosity, critical thinking and relationship-building remain just as essential, even as day-to-day work continues to become automated.
They also cover building a personal brand, growing leadership skills, identifying a specialty and why authentic conversations, both online and in person, continue to carry real value.
Throughout the episode, Dan and Rachel remind listeners that while the tools communicators use may change, the best communicators never stop learning, growing and adapting.
Let us know what you took away from this week’s conversation, and, as always, be sure to rate, review and subscribe!
Tune in every other Wednesday and subscribe to where you listen to podcasts (Spotify | Apple Podcasts).
The transcript below is AI-generated and may contain minor inaccuracies. Tune in to the episode audio to hear the full conversation!
Transcript
Rachel
Hello, welcome to Frankly.
Dan
Welcome.
Rachel
It’s just Dan and I today, and we’re going to talk through a conversation that really could be beneficial if you are new in communications, job seeking in communications, or just need a little refresh as a seasoned professional of like what’s changed, what’s working, how to be the best communicator in 2026. So we’re going to talk about what makes a strong communicator.
Dan
Yeah, and I think that’s something good to check in on, you know, kind of look back at your own work, your own style, think about about this every couple of years or more often, probably.
Rachel
Six months with the way things change today.
Dan
Who knows? Cycles are kind of fast. But yeah, something good to just kind of take a beat, think about how you’re doing things, think about what’s working, what’s not, and yeah, where you might need to adjust going ahead.
Rachel
Absolutely. So if you were to think about one of the biggest things that is affecting comms today, what would that be?
Dan
I mean, I think the obvious answer is how we’re using AI to be more efficient, how maybe some are… I don’t know about overusing AI or becoming too dependent on it, thinking about like where that sweet spot is of finding not just something that you can turn all your work over to and churn it out, but something, finding where it fits, what are the best like ways to apply that to be better in your job?
Rachel
We always talk about it as how do you use AI to complete the tasks that maybe aren’t where your brain isn’t, you know, have to be so turned on, right? So if you can get it to complete some of those very repeatable tasks, then you can use your strategy to analyze what comes out or be more strategic in putting together a larger plan, right? But it helps you with the building blocks. I’ll never forget, I mean, I’ve said this for years in this podcast, but I remember one of the first clients that I worked with that started talking about AI called it a copilot, and I really still feel, I mean, Microsoft literally did an AI copilot, but… It really should serve as a copilot with you still driving the plane.
Dan
Yeah, and I think there’s two ways that I think about it. One is that a copilot for your actual communications work, it can help you with research, it can help you with starting points, it can help you with a lot of different things in that world. The thing that I actually really like it for is more so like the administrative stuff to give you more time to do the things that are on your communications play, like what you’re actually working on for strategy. So like, I don’t know, maybe it’s getting a starting point on a report. Maybe it’s, you know, for us it’s, you know, things in terms of like activity reporting or things like that.
Rachel
Meeting notes are so big for me. Meeting notes, recaps, action items to send to clients that are necessary things to do, but are not where I should be billing the client for a lot of time.
Dan
Yeah, exactly. And it helps us use, like just over that point, it helps us use our budgets more efficiently. It helps us focus on things that are actually like creating results for clients or for your own organization. I think there’s so much potential in that area, but it’s just the other side of that coin is being careful, not losing your own voice, your own kind of like authenticity in a way to the point where you’re catching those like AI red flags and content and things like that.
Rachel
You really do have to train the model on who you are, how you talk, how you write. I mean, our task force has implemented some like tone dot creators and tone checkers. So when you’re writing for clients, you can run it against the check or create the tone doc based on existing materials so that like, things have that voice. But when you are using it for yourself, I really do feel like you, I always call it AI slop. Like you don’t want, it is so very clear to people that use AI when it spits out and it’s AI, right? So like don’t get caught up in that. You have to make sure that what comes out.
Dan
Yeah.
Rachel
Is actually sounding like you makes sense. Does it? I mean, I can be like, oh, sometimes it’s getting to the point where I’m like, oh, that was Claude or like, oh, that was ChatGPT.
Dan
Right. And there’s like, it almost makes you second guess, even if you’re writing things on your own. Like sometimes I catch myself and I’m like, oh, you can’t use that. You can’t use that writing device anymore because it just like is such a giant red flag.
Rachel
Yes.
Dan
I don’t know. I mean, the em dash is the one that comes to mind immediately. I love a dash. Yeah, me too. But now it’s like, oh, I will not use it anymore because it’s like, oh, this is just a sure sign of something that’s churned out. But, you know, it’s that. It’s like the content that’s like, it’s not this, it’s that. And it’s like every time I see that in the social post or anything, I’m like, ugh, can I roll my eyes now? Where, you know, two years ago, that would have been a perfectly fine way to start a social post, to start a blogger, you know, to work into content. It’s like thinking about not just the way that you use it, but the way you write on your own and try to pick out your own red flags.
Rachel
Totally, and I even think that’s a good point too, when you think about training a model, uploading what you end up using is, I think… imperative to train these things. So when, if you are the one writing it or it spits it out, you edit it and you give it back, tell it like this is the final that I went with. Please learn the tone in here, the cadence of writing, right? Like make sure we’re training it back with something that you did use that performed well, whatever it might be. That’s just going to help you get better output.
Dan
Yeah, I totally agree. And that goes back to something that we were talking about a little bit ago of just like, what are some of the skills for communicators and curiosity being kind of like one of those soft skills. And when you think about it in that context, it’s the curiosity to try different things when you’re experimenting with these tools or taking a step back even, like the curiosity to keep up with what’s happening in your industry, in your specialty, like trying to find these sweet spots and dive in.
Rachel
Because AI is great when you’re working alone, but when you’re out networking and building those relationships, which are still the backbone of this industry.
Dan
Yeah.
Rachel
You don’t have AI to depend on. You have to be knowledgeable in what’s going on, what’s happening in the industry, how to have a conversation with somebody. We cannot lose that skill. No. And you have to stay. Right. Yeah, I mean, like I said, it’s the backbone of this industry. You have to be doing those things. So yeah, it’s very imperative.
Dan
Yeah, and if you lose that skill and you can, you know, truly automate everything, then you’re redundant.
Rachel
Totally.
Dan
That’s a danger, I think, is people getting too comfortable in not keeping up with the news and not keeping up with what’s going on in the industries that you work in. All these things is, you know, at a certain point, you have to have some level of expertise that you can insert into the conversation too.
Rachel
And use AI to give you a daily update. Like, you know what I mean? There is a way to mend the two together that makes you dangerous and keeps you curious. and acting on the curiosity. And even if you’re assigned something and you’re not exactly sure how to approach it, again, that curiosity of like, how can I use AI as a first step or have it help me figure something out? Like there’s just a curiosity in general. I think that, you know, it makes you ask better questions. It makes you not lose that part of your brain. I mean, I’ve been thinking about, I’m like, oh my God, three years ago, how was I doing my job without AI? But we were doing it and you still could if you had to go back to it. Like make sure you still can.
Dan
Yeah, And I think there’s something to say also that AI is only as good as what’s already out there. Like it knows what’s existing out there in the world, on the internet. It has a limited data set that it can work from. And it’s not really capable of that original thought or opinion. And I think that’s something that’s, really important to keep in communications, to differentiate yourself from competitors, from others that are in the same industry trying to say the same things, like trying to find where your niche is and how you can add to that kind of like baseline.
Rachel
Well, I’ve got the same tools at our fingertips. So how do you stand out?
Dan
Right, how do you make yourself different there?
Rachel
Yeah, I agree. You know, we talked about the relationship building in a digital world and AI world. That is, it’s a threat of AI, but also, remote and hybrid work or for us, I think COVID showed the industry that you don’t have to hire an agency in your backyard. You don’t have to work right. There are so many things like we work with companies all over the North America. I mean, you’re upright. Yeah. So It’s such an awesome tool, but don’t let it be also like your crutch, right?
Dan
Yeah, I think so. And that’s another thing, you said a couple of years ago, how did I do my job without this? Five or six years ago, how did we do our job without being in the office? And there’s so much that’s changed in that world. We see, and we’ve talked to guests recently about this, of like, There is, I think, today more of a desire to get back out into the world to make those in-person connections again. Events probably aren’t what they were 10 years ago, but they are certainly more than they were a few years ago.
Rachel
Absolutely.
Dan
So it’s kind of a cyclical thing and thinking about how do you use those opportunities when you are in person. To get your point across and build those relationships.
Rachel
You can nurture online, right? I think there’s like a big portion of if you see somebody in person, you might not run into them all the time. Use that time wisely, make the impact, and then do that nurturing and connecting to make sure you stay in touch until you see them again online.
Dan
Yeah, that’s something actually that brings up maybe a point or a question of where what is the state of your own personal brand and social media? Because how do you keep those conversations going?
Rachel
Right.
Dan
And you made a good point earlier about this kind of like influencer approach to things like LinkedIn. Talk about that a little bit, because I thought that was a good point.
Rachel
So I feel like, and it’s funny, maybe influencers are a topic of conversation for me, because I’ve been having so many discussions about them with people. And I actually get on the phone with one of our clients who I don’t work with directly, but the other day, they’re talking about using influencers in kind of a niche market. And he started kind of talking and I said, can I just stop here and look and ask you, define an influencer. Yeah. Like I want everyone, I think it’s important to level set on what is an influencer when you start having some of these discussions. And you know, it really is anybody who puts their voice and opinion online and welcomes feedback from others. Like at the end of the day, whether they have a large following or small following, Not everybody wants to share their opinion online because you can get crucified, right? Everybody’s a keyboard warrior.
Dan
Yep, I can appreciate that.
Rachel
Yes, and so it’s not for everybody. But LinkedIn brings up an interesting point because when you think back to, I think when you and I really started using LinkedIn, it was like, look what I did this thing and I did this and my company did this and we’re hiring for here.
Dan
Yeah, promotional.
Rachel
Yeah, and not that it’s not, and that’s why you follow companies maybe on LinkedIn, but there really is such an opportunity for employees and executives to share their opinions on their own channels as it relates to their industry job, what have you. And you and I were talking about it and we were saying that opinions might not be always popular. But if you have something to back them up and you stand 10 toes down on them, then talk about it. Invite the conversation and the dialogue. I think because everybody’s so scared of being canceled and cancel culture and crucified online. And yes, there is a line you absolutely have to draw. Like, do not get me wrong. Don’t go out there being an idiot. But put it out there and invite the conversation. I think we’ve lost the like healthy debate aspect on social media because it just gets so cutthroat.
Dan
Yeah, everything turns into a shouting match in two seconds. It’s not, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Rachel
Yes. And so I guess as a, maybe if you are, you know, wanting to put your opinion out there as an influencer or just join in on those conversations, keep that in mind. Like we’re all humans here. But I think if you have what someone might consider a hot take and it makes sense for your industry and the people that you are connected with on LinkedIn, put it out there. Share more than just promotional content for your company, for yourself. That’s how I think you show that you are a thought leader too. You’re willing to have those discussions?
Dan
Well, and it puts your personality out there. It proves your humanity in a way. Kind of like what we were saying before, and I hate to tie everything back to AI. I don’t want to do that, but it does put your, it puts your human presence out there to have an opinion and to build on what’s already kind of like out there in the conversation to kind of add your two cents, add your side of the story or what your opinion is. I think that people more and more are going to look for that as ways to engage rather than the one-way communications.
Rachel
Journalists are still reaching out for a source. They want a human expert to be a source, right? As humans, we trust other humans more than anything.
Dan
Usually.
Rachel
Yeah. Maybe that was my hot take that I roll back. Most of the time. If you have the background, you can back it up. Yes. So like there is still so much value in a human giving that information, putting something out there. Right. So yeah, I really feel like, and if we stop doing that, we’re going to lose it and then no one’s going to trust humans either. So I think it’s incredibly important to keep having like healthy Dialogue.
Dan
Yeah, and it goes back to, why curiosity is so important. If you’re not curious, you’re not going to have the conversation. If you’re not doing that, then you’re not going to learn anything new. And you kind of get into this point of stagnation where you just turn to Google and you read your notes and you have one kind of source for that and that’s your opinion. But I think there is like, there is so much more value in actually just the dialogue. Going back and forth, you learn so much more in 2 minutes of talking to somebody than you will in 20 minutes of reading.
Rachel
Yes, and our attention spans are shrinking by the day. I literally have found myself watching TV and being like… I want to put this in 1.5x speed Like I do everything in audio, like I do on videos. Like it’s like, oh my, like slow down. Like for what reason? So I feel like when I read something, my patience is so thin sometimes that I’m just like, I just want to get to like the meat of this. Like what are you actually trying to say?
Dan
What do I need to know?
Rachel
In conversation, I don’t ever feel that way. I’m not like, come on, spit it out, get to the point, right? You’re enjoying the back and forth. Sometimes I want to smack myself. Like that sounds so dumb, but that is where our world has come to and why it’s so important to be curious, ask people questions too, online, in person, and like have the conversation.
Dan
Yeah, we frame this as like, what are the skills of a good communicator? But that probably goes far, far beyond that. It’s just patience and curiosity can really like, yeah.
Rachel
A human skill.
Dan
One of the most important skills overall.
Rachel
I think another thing to think about too is in general, like you said, you don’t want to bring everything back to AI, but in today’s world, it’s like, how do you break out of AI? Like AI has its point, but like what can’t it do? And leadership is really one of those things. And discovering the kind of leader that you are or want to be for, whether that’s people or accounts or projects or whatever it is, That’s just a, I don’t want to say a soft, like it’s a lot of soft skills all put together that you will never be able to replicate. And so it’s even more imperative as we spend more time online and everyone might start to lose those skills that we have leaders that are empathetic and grounded in what it means to be human and be curious and lead the next generation to think for themselves and just be good communicators.
Dan
Yeah, encourage critical thinking as people grow in their careers and not just to kind of check the boxes and get the tasks done. that’s vital. You have to do all that stuff, but take that next step of, yes, and I’m doing this work and I think it could be applied in this way and it can also solve this problem. I think there’s like, that’s one thing that is so important to learn early and practice often throughout your career is just the the ability to think critically and take that next step of why is this important? Is it important? Do I need to do this? And what is kind of like the next step? Where do I take it from here to make this better the next time?
Rachel
I really do think it’s something that’s hard to teach, but if you spend the time and energy to teach teams how to think critically, not think for them, right? Not giving them the answers. And it’s hard because again, it’s not just a, let me show you this Excel spreadsheet and how it moves this and that. It is truly a, something that you have to instill in them, a way of making their brain work when they sit down to problem solve, how do you approach it? It’s a hard thing to teach. And I think it’s something that as a leader every day, I’m like, how do I, how do I do this with people? How do I then have them pass it along? And it’s something I’ve really tried to work on in the past, you know, five or so years as I’ve been developing people. But when it works and you see them start to come out and like bring you these things, you’re like, oh my God, that is like, it’s so cool. It’s so cool to watch people do that because you just need Time and experience, I think, too, and someone guiding you in the right direction. So if you can be that leader and learn some of those skills as you come up, or if you have a leader that you think is doing it well, be curious, ask them questions. Hey, you said this. Why’d you do that? How did you get from this to this? How did you, right? Like those are really important things that if you see something and you’re like, oh, I really like what they said, how’d they get there?
Dan
Right.
Rachel
Pick their brain.
Dan
Yes, walk through the process. And yeah, and I think that it’s not exactly tied, but it ties in as like the generalist versus specialist conversation too of like to be able to think critically in that way, you almost have to be a specialist. And I’m not saying that it’s like, It doesn’t have to be one thing that you pigeonhole yourself into, but you should have a focus area. You should have, I think, you know, we were talking before of this kind of coming around every few years also of like, what’s the hot topic? Do you want to be generalist or specialist? What’s better? What’s more marketable? Yeah, right. But I think just in terms of that, in terms of being able to do that critical thinking and come up with those opinions that we were talking about earlier, to have that expertise, to have the conversations, you almost have to have a specialty of sorts. You can be general in some areas, you can know enough to be dangerous about other things, and that’s important and valuable, but I think the specialist is, I think that comes out on top, especially now when people have so much information at their fingertips on the general world, to be a specialist in one area or a couple areas allows you to kind of like do all of those things that we’ve been talking about these last few minutes here.
Rachel
What would you say is your specialty?
Dan
I mean, for me, it’s mobility and technology communications, kind of like the kind of keeping up on trends and staying ahead of the communications world when it comes to mobility. I think that’s where I’ve really like dug in really my whole career. And even before that, like I’ve always been a car person. I always have enjoyed the way that cars work. So for me, I do more than that, but that is the area that I am passionate about that I like to focus my curiosity on, I would say.
Rachel
Yeah.
Dan
What about you?
Rachel
I think I actually feel like one of my specialties is like people development, people leadership. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out a person and how to get them to where they want to be and recognizing their strengths and weaknesses and how to work with them or against them or like where they can go versus do they want to go.
Dan
Yeah, meet them where they’re at.
Rachel
Yeah, so I think people leadership is definitely one. And on the flip side of that, again, with people is some of the like client relations and even like operationalizing like strategies and things along those lines. I think is something that I can think around pretty well, and then in general, then comes the project management and things, but those again are things that we’re like some of that administration I’m able to. automate or use AI for it to let me focus in that. Like that’s a good example of making sure you do have a specialty somewhere. And again, like we said, it doesn’t have to be like digital ads. Like that’s very niche in a specialty, right? Like it’s very centered. But being a specialist in something doesn’t mean that it even has to be your entire job.
Dan
No, 100%.
Rachel
Keep that in mind too. All right, one. Last question, and this is going to be like hot take, just yes or no kind of a thing. Is authenticity a dead buzzword or actually harder to fake now?
Dan
I think it’s harder to fake now for all the reasons that we talked about before of like, you know, watching your own writing style, like not chasing perfection, being curious and shaping your own expertise so that you can have those opinions. You’re not afraid to have the actual conversation because you can back it up with something. That takes a lot of knowledge, it takes a lot of confidence in your area. Totally. Yeah, I think it’s more important but harder to do.
Rachel
I think people read through BS so fast nowadays. Yeah. Like so fast. Yes. So yeah.
Dan
They’ve got a lot of practice.
Rachel
Yes. We’ve talked about it from a social media perspective too. Like you have to, the brand has to be more human. Don’t try to have the viral moment. Be very authentic, like, you know, authentic to who you or your brand are.
Dan
Yeah.
Rachel
I think those are big things. But I agree. Hard to fake. People read through it. So don’t get too comfortable in. in BSing. Know your level of BS. I love a little BS.
Dan
Yeah, sure.
Rachel
But know the level. Know the level. So. Well, I feel like, you know, if anything resonated with you, tell us, let us know. Come to social media.
Dan
What do you think is the most important communication skill right now?
Rachel
What makes a strong communicator in 2026? I pose that question back to you, but we’ll see you next time.
Dan
All right. See you.
