Dear BAMf Podcast: Episode 16 with Kaitlin Durkosh

Dear BAMf // Episode 16: Kaitlin Durkosh questions the why of putting out good/bad news, shares advice about preparing your client to speak to media, and emphasizes the importance of acknowledgment.  

In this week's episode of the Dear BAMf podcast, we speak with Kaitlin Durkosh, Director of Communications at Greylock Partners. Before joining Greylock, Kaitlin lead communications for Uber's consumer experience and the company's new mobility businesses. Kaitlin strategizes on tempering a CEO who wants to be front and center, recognizing patterns in your organization, and the advantage of documenting everything. Facts and data are always better than opinions.

Dear BAMf,

As a PR person, I'm used to staffing interview questions with clients to listen in and take notes. I'm wondering what I should do if something comes up in an interview that I know is a question my client cannot answer or if they're struggling. At what point and in what way should I chime in, if at all. Will that sour my relationship with the reporter? How do I navigate these tricky situations?

 Listen now to hear how Kaitlin advises this writer to move forward.

Dear BAMf: Episode 16

Episode 16 highlights:

• (02:23) The why of pushing out good or bad news — Why are we doing this? Why do we want to push this now? Is it even the right time? Kaitlin tells us what to consider.
• (08:03) Tips on preparing clients before they speak to media: Make sure they know when to block or redirect a question and say, "that's a great question. Let me think about it." or, "let me get back to you." 
• (11:00) Why you should create an internal policy within your company that establishes who speaks to media and how. This can help in avoiding clients from reaching out directly to publications.
  
• (21:00) Although competition is important to address. The majority of comms goals encompass innovation, signaling to investors, and hiring.

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