The Smart Communications Podcast - Episodes Tagged with “Teams”

Episode 197: How can you find joy?

Big Duck — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0400

How do we find joy in our work and our lives, especially when burnout looms? In this episode, Farra Trompeter, co-director, and Elandria Jackson Charles, chief joy officer at Ayoka Partners, explore how sabbatical care, intentional rest, and daily micro-moments of joy can help you reconnect with yourself and your purpose.

Episode 195: What does effective design feedback look like?

Big Duck — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Smart design feedback is possible; it just requires clarity, collaboration, and strategy. Join J Kelley, senior account manager and host of this episode of the Smart Communications Podcast, as they chat with Randi Gibson, graphic designer, and Sandy Zimmerman, design director, about effective design feedback. Follow along for strategies to make the feedback process smoother and your creative outcomes stronger.

Episode 194: How can you communicate with candor and care?

Big Duck — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Communicating with candor can be kind and helpful. Farra Trompeter, co-director, talks with Keyante Love, founder and president of Good Love Group, to discuss navigating power dynamics, embracing discomfort, and staying grounded in your values when collaborating with your team and your community.

Episode 193: How can you keep your communications plan alive?

Big Duck — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Is your communications plan sitting untouched? We have swapped roles for this episode of the Smart Communications Podcast, with our director of service development, Ally Dommu as host and Farra Trompeter, co-director, as her guest, who explore how to keep your communications plan useful, relevant, and responsive, even in chaotic times.

Episode 192: How can you consolidate feedback?

Big Duck — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Managing feedback doesn’t have to be messy or overwhelming. In this episode, Farra Trompeter, co-director, is joined by J Kelley, senior account manager, to walk through thoughtful steps to synthesize and clarify feedback—helping teams collaborate more efficiently, reduce confusion, and move forward with confidence.

Episode 183: How can you break free from being busy?

Big Duck — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Are you constantly busy but never feel accomplished? Farra Trompeter, co-director, and Kishshana Palmer, author, discuss Kishshana’s book, Busy Is a Four-Letter Word: A Guide to Achieving More by Doing Less, what it means to work smarter, not harder, and offer practical insights for how personal development is professional development

Episode 182: How can you build resilient nonprofit organizations and teams?

Big Duck — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Resilience isn’t just a buzzword—it’s essential for nonprofit success. Farra Trompeter, co-director, and Peter Heller, founder of Heller Fundraising Group, explore what it means when staff are resilient and supported, and how leaders can support their teams, adapt to change, and fundraise for a strong future.

Episode 181: How do we foster healthy group participation?

Big Duck — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Healthy participation is a process not an outcome. How do we create spaces where everyone feels valued and engaged? Sarita Joseph, director of accounts, and Josh Kelley, senior account manager, explore the importance of this topic and share practical tips to enhance collaboration, inclusivity, and effectiveness in nonprofit settings.

Episode 180: Is it time to reboot your communications strategy?

Big Duck — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Is it time to reboot your nonprofit’s communications strategy? In this episode, Kivi Leroux Miller, founder and CEO of the Nonprofit Marketing Guide, and Farra Trompeter, co-director, discuss the latest nonprofit communications trends, the need to focus, evolve, and reflect on approaches, challenges staff face, and why nonprofits may need to reboot their communication strategy.

Episode 179: How can a language guide help your nonprofit?

Big Duck — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Language shapes how nonprofits connect, engage, and drive impact. Ally Dommu, director of service development, and Ryan Gerhard, copy director, explore why a language guide is helpful, how it differs from a brand guide, and the steps needed to create one.

Episode 178: How can values strengthen your organization?

Big Duck — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Is it the right moment to update your organization's values? Brenda Perez, Senior Account Manager, and Claire Taylor Hansen, co-director, explore how values can unify teams and organizations, guiding both internal culture and external communication. They share tips to create meaningful values that reflect your mission and spark alignment, whether you’re in a nonprofit, worker-owned cooperative, or other organization with shared beliefs.

Episode 176: How do you plan and communicate about leaving an organization?

Big Duck — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 09:00:00 -0500

Is succession and continuity planning a standard practice in your organization? Farra Trompeter, co-director, joins Sarah Durham, founder of Big Duck, to explore why it’s smart for executive directors and senior leaders to plan their eventual departures. They discuss the key factors that influence decisions to leave, strategies for communicating exit plans effectively, and how to approach thoughtful, phased succession planning that ensures organizational stability.

Episode 174: How can nonprofit leaders build strong organizations?

Big Duck — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 09:00:00 -0500

Farra Trompeter, co-director, is joined by David Rhode to discuss his book, Passion Isn't Enough: A Practical Guide for Nonprofit Leaders. They explore strategies and actionable steps that executive directors, CEOs, senior staff, and board members can take to strengthen and grow their organizations.

Episode 149: How can you bring accessibility and inclusion into your communications?

Big Duck — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 09:00:00 -0500

Farra Trompeter is joined by Kerry Thompson, senior advisor for inclusion and accessibility at the Disability Rights Fund and the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund, to discuss the significance of incorporating accessibility and inclusion in your nonprofit communications and sheds light on how she is designing DRF's internal processes, policies, and practices to serve as an example for other organizations.

Episode 139: How can you create messaging and communications that reflect the principles of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion?

Big Duck — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Farra Trompeter, co-director, delves into the topic of creating messaging and communications that embody justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) principles with Vanessa Wakeman, founder, and CEO of The Wakeman Agency.

Episode 135: What does it actually mean to show up as a "good" board member?

Big Duck — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 09:00:00 -0400

Farra Trompeter, co-director, chats with Brooke Richie-Babbage, founder and CEO of Bending Arc, and the host of The Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast, about what they find meaningful about board service and the benefits of having board members who are passionate and can be cheerleaders, ambassadors, and thought partners.

Episode 127: How can you build a strong relationship with a consultant?

Big Duck — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 09:00:00 -0500

Why does good work take time? Farra Trompeter, co-director, and Josh Riman, founder and president of Great Believer, talk about why it's essential to have mutual trust, kindness, and respect between nonprofit organizations and creative agencies.

Episode 125: How can you manage burnout and fatigue as a communications professional?

Big Duck — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 09:00:00 -0500

Should we strive for work-life balance or work-life harmony? Farra Trompeter, co-director, chats with Sarah Boison, digital strategist, about how we can support our colleagues, and ourselves, when we are experiencing burnout.

Episode 121: Why should you prioritize internal communications?

Big Duck — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0400

Communicating first or at the same time with your staff as external communications roll out builds trust. Farra Trompeter, co-director, chats with Fatima Jones, senior director of marketing and communication, at The Apollo, about what a high-functioning internal communications team can look like.

Episode 115: Why does belonging matter in the workplace?

Big Duck — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 09:00:00 -0400

Farra Trompeter, co-director, talks with DEI thought leader and author, Rhodes Perry, about the benefits of fostering belonging and inclusion in our workplaces–and the costs when we don’t. They discuss how to build power, understand exclusion, and steps you can take to actively make things better.

Episode 114: What can white managers do to reduce racial harm?

Big Duck — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 09:00:00 -0400

Farra Trompeter, co-director, talks with equity and justice practitioner, coach, and consultant, Yejin Lee to discuss how white managers can disrupt harmful and racist behaviors, the importance of identification, reflection, and accountability for transformation.

Episode 112: How can you facilitate inclusive conversations?

Big Duck — Wed, 11 May 2022 09:00:00 -0400

Ally Dommu, director of strategy, & Key Jackson, deputy executive director for programs & power building at GLSEN dive into facilitation practices and how to create spaces where all people can engage and feel comfortable joining in the discussion.

Episode 111: How can your organization stay human-centered in an artificial world?

Big Duck — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 09:00:00 -0400

Farra Trompeter, co-director, chats with Allison Fine and Beth Kanter, co-authors of The Smart Nonprofit, Staying Human-Centered in an Automated World about how we can reduce potential harms such as embedded bias and surveillance capitalism, and share some insights into how nonprofits can prevent these harms from taking root.

Episode 110: How can technology create an equitable world?

Big Duck — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 09:00:00 -0400

How can tech better meet community needs? Farra Trompeter, co-director, chats with leading public interest technologist, Afua Bruce, and CEO of NTEN, Amy Sample Ward about their book “The Tech That Comes Next, How Changemakers, Philanthropists, and Technologists can Build an Equitable World.” and how to use technology for social change.

Episode 107: How can you approach succession planning?

Big Duck — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 09:00:00 -0500

nonprofit, teams, communication

Episode 106: Protecting one's time: How can wellbeing play into decision-making?

Big Duck — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 09:00:00 -0500

How do you describe how you make decisions in your role? Hannah Thomas, director of learning and innovation at Big Duck, talks with Fatima Jones, senior director of marketing and communications at the Apollo Theater, to discuss how to set up boundaries to protect your time and wellbeing and how to enforce these boundaries in your decision-making process.

Episode 103: Tiny Habits: How can small changes change everything?

Big Duck — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 09:00:00 -0500

It’s a new year! Do you have new behaviors you want to adopt or unwanted behaviors you want to stop? Tiny Habits is a simple and effective method to change behavior. Learn how to change behaviors or adopt new ones with Farra Trompeter, co-director and Edith Asibey founder of Asibey consulting.

Episode 102: How can you create a healthy workplace in remote settings?

Big Duck — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 09:00:00 -0500

How can your organization prioritize wellness and productivity? Farra Trompter, co-director, talks with Meico Marquette Whitlock, founder and CEO of Mindful Techie, in this episode packed with ways to add a more mindful approach to your work-life and tech-life balance.

Episode 61: What are the six elements your communications need to thrive?

Big Duck — Wed, 13 May 2020 07:00:00 -0400

Nonprofit CEOs and staff who manage communications can use this book to set clearer goals, guide their planning and activities, identify gaps in their expertise, and discover opportunities to strengthen their communications. In this podcast, Sarah Durham breaks down six key communications elements.

Episode 57: What should your nonprofit’s communications really achieve?

Big Duck — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 07:00:00 -0500

Big Duck’s latest book, The Nonprofit Communications Engine, outlines a simple model for nonprofit communicators and leaders that makes it easier for them to leverage communications in order to advance their mission. Nonprofit CEOs and staff who manage communications can use this book to set clearer goals, guide their planning and activities, identify gaps in their expertise, and discover opportunities to strengthen their communications. In this podcast, Sarah Durham breaks it down.

Episode 30: How do you structure a growing communications team?

Big Duck — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 06:15:00 -0500

Suzanne Shaw is Director of Communications at the Union of Concerned Scientists and has over three decades of expertise in nonprofit and private sector marketing and communications.

She restructured her communications department with the intention to build in-house capacity, increase efficiency, bridge “channel-silos,” and measure marketing efforts more effectively. Tune in to hear how she did it and get tips for deciding what a nonprofit with a small communications team should take on in-house vs. outsource.