Meet Annmarie Pisano

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Annmarie Pisano a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Annmarie, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?

I used to be very timid, especially at work! I would wait until the big bosses left the room and then whisper questions to my office friends. But several mentors encouraged me. One said, “Your ideas are really good! You should try to, you know, share them with someone who isn’t me.” Another former boss told me that his dream was for me to put him out of a job by taking over so many of his advanced tasks, he could just go home. (I did eventually get his title, not quite his salary.) Confidence comes from having just enough outside encouragement that you can try to achieve something a little out of reach, and eventually succeed at it, and then keep going. Keeping a file of all the nice things people have said to me is also very effective.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a partner at Pisano Slater Enterprises, an ethical, human-powered communications agency. We focus on strategic communications, crisis comms, and content strategy for nonprofits, creatives, and small businesses. We work with interesting people to help refine how they present themselves on the internet and in the media. Our main goal is to draw them out and translate their work into something that other humans can intuitively understand and support. No jargon or fluff. Just real people telling their true, impactful stories—and getting results from that.

My background is in documentary film, where I worked for years as a producer and casting director. I’ve always been passionate about telling stories and working with fascinating people. It’s a privilege to get to ask them a million questions, pull out the most interesting and relatable (or wild and completely unrelatable!) details from their work and their lives, and help them package it in service of their goals.

We work in all subject areas, from book authors and think tanks to tech and litigation, but I have a particular interest in and emphasis on reproductive justice. I’ve worked with a number of nonprofits, advocates, and providers on their messaging and media relations, and I think it’s essential for everyone in the United States to understand their current options for reproductive health. We need to know what we’ve lost, and what we’re working toward.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I’m insanely curious about everything, which helps! I read a lot, including too much of the internet and the daily news, and I dislike feeling out of the loop. In this line of work, you need to be a minor expert on dozens of different topics (sometimes all in the same day). You also need to know what’s happening in the media, what else is going on in the world, and ideally you should have some understanding of the larger history of whatever you’re working on. All of that comes from reading and engaging with other people’s work. I don’t think I really understood my job or how to do it well until I started doing the research, reading the background materials, and understanding the ins and outs of where my clients were coming from.

I also have a generosity of spirit that allows me to work very well with clients and outside partners. Being empathetic to people going through turbulent situations is a big part of my job, and I’ve learned over time that people really respond to good intentions with the same. That also means taking enough care of yourself that you have a little extra for others.

The third thing is organization. No matter what your career is, if your files are disorganized and you can’t find last month’s reports, you can’t really be effective.

My advice (to everyone, not just young people) is to read the papers and the internet and a real book every day. Talk to as many people as will conceivably answer, ask them questions, and try to be generous with them in return. And learn how to organize your work life in a way that makes sense to you, even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else.

Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?

I love to work with genuine people who have something interesting or unique to say, or who are making a tangible contribution to the world. Any topic can be interesting if you see it through the lens of someone passionate, so I’m always trying to find those people.I don’t worry about what their particular market or job niche is.

If you have something interesting to say and need help getting it out in the world, get in touch!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pisanoslater.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annmarie-pisano-76a8a7b/

Image Credits

headshot – Ian MacAllen
1 – Adrian Buckmaster
2 – Adrian Buckmaster
3 – Ian MacAllen
4 – no credit
5- Adrian Buckmaster