On the ground at New York Women in Communications’ Women’s History Month event.
Last week, members of New York Women in Communications gathered in Manhattan’s Financial District for the organization’s annual Beverly Wettenstein Women’s History Month Event. The agenda covered a wide range of topics in the world of sports, hospitality and comms, and NYWICI president Beth Feldman kicked off the afternoon by telling the attendees what she feels makes the organization unique.
“It isn’t just the access or the opportunities,” Feldman said. “It’s the sisterhood. It’s the understanding that we rise higher when we lift one another, when we share what we’ve learned, and when we create space for the next generation to step forward.”
Feldman framed that sense of connection as something built through shared experiences and visible career journeys, especially for those just entering the field.
“What makes today even more meaningful isn’t just what they do, it’s how they got there,” she said. It’s the paths they’ve taken, the risks they’ve embraced, the pivots they’ve made and the people who helped them along the way. Those stories matter just as much, especially for the young women in this room who are just starting out.”
Lessons from a career in comms leadership
That focus on connection and career journeys came to life in the keynote, where Marissa Shorenstein, chief external affairs officer at Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment, offered a candid look at what it really takes to build a career in high-pressure comms roles by speaking about her own journey in the field, including time spent with the NFL’s New York Jets.
“I was 21, working in the country’s biggest media market, and everyone’s yelling at you all the time,” she told the audience. “I learned on the job, and I learned through my mistakes, including one early on where I thought my career would be over before it even started. But those moments didn’t define me. When I got to the Jets, it became one of the most challenging — and most interesting — roles I’ve ever had, bringing together real estate, politics and sports in a way that was just fascinating.”
Those early, high-pressure experiences also shaped how Shorenstein shows up in the room today. Not just as a communicator, but also as an advisor willing to challenge the status quo.
“I always tell my principals the truth,” Shorenstein said. “People tend to surround themselves with yes people, and I’m not a yes person. I don’t care if it means I might lose my job. You can’t be scared to use your voice. It can be a scary place to be, but unless you’re willing to do that, you might as well not be there.”
A shifting storytelling ecosystem
That willingness to speak up and stand firm in your perspective also shapes how communicators tell stories. That’s especially relevant in an environment where audiences are fragmented and attention is harder than ever to capture. During a panel discussion on storytelling, top-level communicators from across industries discussed their thoughts on getting messages to resonate with their intended audiences.
“There is so much content in this world today,” Lauren Kaufman, managing director at MMGY, said during the discussion. “How do you break through the noise? That’s probably the biggest challenge that all of us have right now as communicators: answering what the message is, who we want to receive it, and what we want them to do with that information. The essence of storytelling has become experiential and allowing people to actually feel it, not just be told what it is.”
Rachel Carr, executive director at Dan Klores Communications, said that the move toward experiential storytelling also requires a deeper understanding of who audiences are today and how differently they consume information.
“You really need to know who you’re trying to reach and who that generation trusts,” Carr told the audience. “Younger audiences aren’t necessarily following traditional media anymore. They’re following individuals, so you have to understand where they’re getting their information and meet them there.”
Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications.
The post Speak up and stand out: The keys to succeeding in a crowded comms landscape appeared first on PR Daily.
