PR Explored: The Podcast for Public Relations and Communications Pros

In this episode of PR Explored, host Michelle Garrett, a PR consultant, author, and writer talks with her guest crisis communications expert Shawna Bruce, who shares her 40-year communications background, including 25+ years in military public affairs, work at Dow Chemical, and her current focus (since 2018) on training organizations to prepare for crises.
They discuss why crisis communications is now operational infrastructure, how to anticipate risks by studying incidents in your sector, and the importance of preparation, practice, reviews, succession planning, and internal coordination.
Bruce emphasizes message maps, fast approvals (including pre-approved holding statements), using owned media as a crisis hub, and having backups/shadows and realistic exercises ranging from lunch-and-learns to multi-day shift-based drills.
They address AI-driven misinformation, the need for trusted official channels, careful use of AI for planning (not unsupervised response), and how trust is tested and reinforced during crises rather than built from scratch.
00:00 Welcome and Introductions
01:57 Shauna’s Crisis Background
04:46 Preparation Over Parachuting
06:01 Why Crisis Comms Matters Now
09:33 Anticipating Risks by Sector
14:07 Comms as Part of Response
17:04 Air Canada Language Lesson
21:34 How to Practice Crisis Drills
29:09 Small Business Crisis Basics
33:23 Preapproved Holding Statements
35:35 Trust and Cadence in Crisis
38:02 Internal Comms Ripple Effects
40:20 Track Issues Before Crisis
41:20 AI Misinformation Reality
43:36 Own Your Channels
50:59 Build Trust With Humanity
52:36 AI For Planning Not Response
57:10 When Everything Feels Crisis
58:57 Educate Leaders And Triage
01:05:18 Preparedness Resources Wrap
Show notes:
Follow Shawna Bruce on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnabruce/
Visit Shawna Bruce’s site: https://www.mdbruceandassociates.com/
Follow the host: 
Website: www.michellegarrett.com 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUs
X/Twitter: https://x.com/PRisUs
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergal
Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now
Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here. 
About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, writer and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker and podcast guest on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.

In this episode of PR Explored, host Michelle Garrett, a PR consultant, author, and writer talks with her guest Katie Suiters of Brighton Media to discuss modernizing media training for executives. 
Suiters contrasts outdated, scripted talking-point memorization with a hyper-custom approach that builds authentic, teachable communication skills across scenarios, including media interviews, internal all-hands, social video, panels, and crisis moments. 
She recommends starting with intention-setting: defining the business objective of an opportunity and how the spokesperson and organization should be perceived, then measuring success against those goals. 
They address misconceptions that journalists are “out to get you,” the importance of taking pauses, and avoiding jargon because it erodes trust and loses audiences. 
Suiters advocates ongoing monthly or quarterly prep instead of one-time sessions, explains how to deliver constructive feedback, warns that “internal” remarks can leak, and notes AI increases demand for human, credible delivery and voice-aligned messaging; outside trainers can provide candid third-party coaching.
00:00 Welcome and Introductions
01:02 Rethinking Media Training
02:05 Beyond Broadcast Scenarios
03:33 Effort and Practice Payoff
05:20 Evolving Past Talking Points
06:14 Set Goals and Perception
08:45 Debrief and Say No
11:50 Misconceptions About Training
14:46 Journalists Are Not Enemies
19:40 Pause and Speak Clearly
22:29 Avoid Jargon and Acronyms
28:38 Ongoing Prep Sessions
29:26 Always Be Ready
30:53 PR As Insurance
31:51 Short Tailored Sessions
33:59 Handling Training Resistance
36:14 Introverts And Authenticity
37:46 Giving Executive Feedback
41:56 One On One Vs Group
43:31 Assume Everything Leaks
47:14 Difficult Questions And Bridging
50:03 AI And The Human Premium
53:42 When To Hire A Trainer
56:59 Media Training Wrap Up
Show notes: 
Follow Katie Suiters on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiesuiters/
Follow the host: 
Website: www.michellegarrett.com 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUs
X/Twitter: https://x.com/PRisUs
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergal
Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now
Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here. 
About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, writer and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker and podcast guest on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.

In this episode of PR Explored, host Michelle Garrett, a PR consultant, author, and writer talks with her guest Katie Robbert, CEO of Trust Insights, about how SEO and GEO (generative AI engine optimization) affect PR work.
Robbert explains GEO as serving a new “business to machine” audience—LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude—which summarize information from sources such as listicles and quoted articles, making PR placements and strong SEO fundamentals still essential.
Rather than throwing out playbooks, she recommends reverse-engineering AI results by asking for sources, targeting high-quality publications (including trade media), and measuring impact via analytics segments and “how did you hear about us” form fields.
They discuss EEAT (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness), avoiding low-quality AI content, and making “machine-readable” content more detailed across owned and Google properties.
Robbert also notes using constrained-source tools like NotebookLM and improving accessibility to help machine readability.
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:16 Why GEO Matters Now
02:00 Defining GEO vs SEO
03:29 Trust Insights GEO Course
06:46 SEO Not Dead Explained
11:05 No Need to Overhaul PR
13:19 Paid Placement and Authority
16:18 Measuring LLM Discovery
20:01 Are LLM Leads Better
24:30 PR Priorities for SEO GEO
27:07 Avoiding AI Content Slop
29:21 Google AI Mode Question
29:42 Critical Thinking vs AI
30:27 Sniff Test and Skepticism
33:27 Ask for Sources
34:07 Control the Inputs
35:10 Notebook LM Workflows
37:11 Trade Media Strategy
40:49 Press Releases for Machines
43:24 Wire Services and GEO
46:16 Start Your Own Publication
47:42 Be Everywhere for LLMs
50:50 Accessibility as SEO
52:14 Final Optimization Takeaways
Show notes:
Katie Robbert on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katierobbert/
Trust Insights GEO 101 course: https://academy.trustinsights.ai/courses/geo-101-for-marketers
Trust Insights site: https://www.trustinsights.ai/
Follow the host: 
Website: www.michellegarrett.com 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUs
X/Twitter: https://x.com/PRisUs
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergal
Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now
Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here. 
About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, writer and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker and podcast guest on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.

PR scams are EVERYWHERE these days. We also see a rise in the number of agencies selling “fake PR” placements. 
My guest, Bill Byrne, co-founder of Remedy PR, and I delve into this topic on this episode of PR Explored. 
What should you watch out for? How can you tell when someone is trying to sell you something that's too good to be true? And how should you vet a PR provider to ensure you're hiring a credible consultant or agency? 
Follow the host: 
Website: www.michellegarrett.com 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUs
X/Twitter: https://x.com/PRisUs
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergal
Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now
Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here. 
About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, writer and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker and podcast guest on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.

In this episode of PR Explored, host Michelle Garrett, a PR consultant, author, and writer, interviews Becky Lawlor of RedPoint Insights about using original research to support B2B PR and thought leadership. 
Lawler defines original research (surveys, internal proprietary data, or unique analysis) versus third-party stats and explains how it builds authority by “owning the narrative.” She emphasizes upfront strategy, competitor analysis, and alignment with goals; choosing credible respondents via vetted B2B panel vendors rather than consumer tools; and planning sample size (often 100 minimum in B2B, ~500 robust, larger for segmentation). 
The discussion covers budgeting ranges from boutique pilots around $10K to large consultancies costing $100K+; incentives and fraud risks; careful survey design to drive headlines, avoid excessive open-ended questions, and ensure clarity; deeper data analysis for benchmarks and contrasts; and PR execution via tailored pitching beyond press releases. 
They also outline broader uses including lead gen, paid/organic social, sales enablement, speaking slots, SEO/backlinks, and LLM search, and note buyers may find brand-owned research as credible as third-party studies.
00:00 Welcome and Introductions
01:02 Becky Background and Focus
01:53 What Counts as Original Research
04:00 Why Research Builds Authority
05:26 Research Strategy and Angles
07:47 Finding the Right Respondents
10:06 Sample Size and Segmentation
13:38 Credibility and Media Scrutiny
16:02 Budget and Panel Costs
19:51 Incentives and Fraud Risks
21:26 Survey Design for Headlines
26:52 Avoiding Open Ended Pitfalls
27:26 Survey Fatigue Traps
27:47 Open Ended Limits
28:48 Deeper Data Analysis
30:46 Pitching the Right Stats
33:53 Bring PR In Early
37:14 Repurposing Research Everywhere
42:08 Measuring PR Impact
46:00 Budget-Friendly Pilot Surveys
49:02 Finding Industry Gaps
51:15 Own Your Research Credibility
54:02 Wrap Up and Resources
Show notes: 
Redpoint Insights: https://redpointinsights.com/
Becky Lawlor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckylawlor/
Follow the host: 
Website: www.michellegarrett.com 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prstrategist/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PRisUs
X/Twitter: https://x.com/PRisUs
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@prwritergal
Michelle's book - B2B PR That Gets Results - is available now
Book a no-obligation call to talk about your needs here. 
About the host: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, writer and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker and podcast guest on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.