An interview by Kaylee Holland -

Q: What drew you to storytelling as the core of your work?
Rob Biesenbach explains that storytelling has always been embedded in his career as a communications and public relations professional. However, his passion intensified in the early 2000s when he began taking improv and sketch comedy classes at Second City. “That just was so mind-expanding and enriching,” he says. “It really deepened my understanding of storytelling and my passion for it.” Through that experience, Biesenbach realized that storytelling principles drawn from performance could be applied to help people communicate more effectively in professional settings.

Sometimes it’s not what you say but how you say it.  B2B marketers often learn this the hard way … if we learn it at all.

The truth is, you can have all the right information. All the right benefits. Even all the right prospects. Yet your messages still fall flat.

In this short, example-stuffed webinar, discover the 7 big messaging mistakes you likely make. As well as the quick fixes that’ll increase your KPIs.

You’ll see the common, but costly communication errors that tank campaigns today. And gain some easy ways to overcome them by creating messages designed to work with your customer’s brain and not against it. 

Takeaways:

• The easiest and most overlooked way to increase revenue (7x more effective, says the B2B Institute)
• The misconception about your audience that costs you sales—and makes you look LESS intelligent
• The simple way to rewrite a headline that’s proven to boost engagement up to 140%

About Nancy Harhut

A top-ranked speaker, Nancy’s known for her interesting and actionable insights that focus on the impact of behavioral science on marketing. She's wowed audiences in Sydney, London, Berlin, and all over the US with her high-energy, example-jammed presentations.

The Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of HBT Marketing, Nancy’s been named one of the 10 Most Fascinating People in B2B Marketing, a Social Top 50 Email Marketing Leader, and a Top 40 Digital Strategist. She and her teams have won over 200 awards for B2C and B2B marketing effectiveness.

Check out her recent book, “Using Behavioral Science in Marketing,” winner of the National Indie Excellence Award, the NYC Big Book Award, the AMA Leonard L. Berry Marketing Book Award, and several other accolades.

By Kaylee Holland: After a few uncertain years in the job market, 2026 is shaping up to be a promising year for communications professionals—and Brooke Kruger couldn’t be more excited about it. As the founder of KC Partners, a firm specializing exclusively in communications recruiting, Kruger has had a front-row seat to the ebbs and flows of hiring across agencies, corporations, startups, and venture capital firms for nearly two decades.

Learn a four-step strategy for finding your voice and writing from the readers’ point of view. This ability will help you engage your readers and move them to act.

• Specifically, you’ll learn how to:
• Take advantage of the formula readers use to decide what to read.
• Top 2 rewards of reading to boost interest in your message.
• Answer the No. 1 question your reader is asking about your piece.
• Make a 2-minute perspective shift to focus your message on reader value

About Ann Wylie

Wylie Communications President Ann Wylie provides writing, training and consulting to organizations like Coca-Cola, Toyota, NASA, Salesforce and Eli Lilly. Her workshops have taken her from Hollywood to Helsinki. There, she helps communicators polish their skills and find new inspiration for their work. Ann has earned 60 communication awards, including two IABC Gold Quills. She is author of RevUpReadership.com, a toolbox for writers. Thousands of communicators subscribe to her newsletter, Wylie's Writing Tips.

Ann is an IABC recommended speaker and a member of the 100 Club.

Generative AI can turbo-charge research for communicators, from horizon-scanning policy shifts to tracking issues, sizing up competitors, prepping leaders, and responding to crises.
But simply outsourcing your judgment to AI won’t cut it.

Instead, you’ll learn when to use which tool, how to force citations and provenance, and how to turn raw results into decision-ready briefs your stakeholders can trust.

In this example-packed session, Shel Holtz shows practical, ethical workflows for Public Affairs and Communications teams.

Key takeaways

• Choose the right copilot for the job: When to use ChatGPT Projects + Deep Research, Perplexity, Notebook LM, Custom GPTs/Gems, and other tools.
• Prompt patterns that keep you honest: Structure prompts to prioritize primary sources, require inline citations, extract dates/deadlines, and flag secondary coverage.
• Build reusable research assistants: Set up repeatable watchlists, weekly briefs, 30/60/90-day calendars, and risk heatmaps.
• Create source-grounded Q&A binders: Use Notebook LM to interrogate curated material (e.g., CEO speeches, filings) with verifiable citations.
• From findings to executive-ready outputs: Convert research into spokesperson notes, talking points, FAQs, and customer-facing summaries – fast.
• Safeguards that protect your credibility: Disclosure, provenance links, and “never auto-publish” guardrails for responsible AI use in comms.

Who should attend: Communicators in public affairs, corporate reputation, media relations, and executive communications who need trusted, timely insights without adding headcount.

About Shel Holtz, SCMP, IABC Fellow

Shel Holtz is senior director of Communications for Webcor, a San Francisco-based commercial general contractor and builder. Before joining Webcor in 2017, Shel consulted independently for 21 years, counseling organizations on adoption of digital technology for communication, internal communication, and crisis communication.

by Kaylee Holland - Most organizations see innovation as complex, time-consuming, and reserved for a select few. But according to innovation strategist and author Carla Johnson, that belief is exactly what’s holding companies back.

By Kaylee Holland - The Philadelphia Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators is proud to announce the appointment of Rashi Iyer as its new chapter president starting January 1, 2026.

by Katrina Hook - As Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at Radian, Rashi Iyer leads a wide-ranging portfolio that includes corporate and business PR, executive communications, crisis communications, philanthropy, and more. Her work not only shapes Radian’s narrative but also strengthens the company’s connections with stakeholders at every level.

What Ferris Can Do For You

If you want to sharpen your storytelling skills and help your people improve theirs, look no further than the classic American film, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

In this engaging, practical session we'll unpack the movie's most important storytelling lesson and learn how it can help us connect with, captivate and compel any individual or audience to action — from customers and clients to colleagues and other key stakeholders.

That means:

• Identifying and rising above the ordinary information (the data, stats and info) that prevents us from delivering the big picture — the context, meaning and perspective;
• Drawing out the best stories from our customers, constituents, members and others;
• Creating more captivating campaigns, preparing winning pitches and presentations and extending our influence inside and outside the organization.

Come prepared for a substantive and interactive experience. And remember, the learning will come at you pretty fast — if you don’t stop and tune in you could miss it!

Watch the promo video

Who is Rob Biesenbach?

Rob Biesenbach specializes in helping busy professionals capitalize on the power of storytelling to engage and influence their most important stakeholders.

Through his workshops, speeches, books and coaching he has helped tens of thousands of senior executives, managers and other professionals become more effective, persuasive communicators. He’s the author of the Amazon bestseller "Unleash the Power of Storytelling: Win Hearts, Change Minds, Get Results."

Rob has worked with great organizations including AARP, Allstate, Caterpillar, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Feeding America and Lockheed Martin.

In former lives, Rob was a vice president at Ogilvy, press secretary to the Ohio Attorney General, and a nonprofit and association executive in Washington, DC.

By Kaylee Holland - The ability to negotiate, persuade, and influence others is essential for success in business communications. Understanding the psychology behind these abilities can set you apart from your peers by applying the tactics and seeing improvements in reaching your professional goals.