Back“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
— George Bernard Shaw
I’m writing to you from the storied city of Istanbul. As a British Muslim, I sometimes feel like a cultural chameleon, a bit of a shape-shifter shuttling between different worlds.
Istanbul feels a bit like home, it straddles Asia and Europe literally, with the Bosphorus Bridge.
I’m here for the Al Baraka Summit, focused on the Global Islamic Economy, speaking about the challenge of communicating complex technical concepts around ethical capitalism in ways that are more inclusive and accessible.
Outside of work, I’ll be scouring Istanbul for my favourite rose and pistachio Turkish delight!
Now, onto this week’s fan-hitters on BBC Radio 4’s hit show 🎙️ When it Hits the Fan
BBC Radio 4🎙️Three Fan-Hitters We Covered This Week
Very grateful to crisis communications expert Lauren Beeching, who brilliantly stepped alongside David Yelland on BBC Radio 4’s When It Hits The Fan this week in my absence.
BP vs “Shouty Albert”
BP’s sudden sacking of chairman Albert Manifold became one of those stories where the PR response started to become the story itself. David and Lauren looked at what happens when boardroom drama spills into the papers and the language of a corporate statement leaves everyone asking more questions than it answers.
How To PR A Redundancy
Redundancies used to happen behind closed doors. Not anymore. In the age of Zoom, Teams and TikTok, the way someone is let go can become public very quickly. David and Lauren explained why companies are now bringing in crisis PR advisers before difficult conversations happen, not just after they go wrong.
Life After A Fan-Hitter
Rebekah Vardy is back on television and still very much living with the aftermath of Wagatha Christie. David and Lauren discussed what happens after a major public reputation crisis, and whether it is better to disappear, make a joke of it or try to take control of the story.
Please do have a listen on BBC Radio 4 every Wednesday at 4 pm and Thursday at 8 pm.
👉 Catch the extended version on BBC Sounds, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The Case For M-Shaped Talent
One of the highlights of the week was spending an evening at Soho Theatre with David Gallagher, Gill Hardy from WPP, Miranda Mitchell from Praytell and Victoria O’Brien from 72Point.
Gill introduced me to the idea of M-shaped talent. I’d come across T-shaped professionals before, people with deep expertise in one area and broad understanding across others. M-shaped talent is gearing up for an AI age. It’s people who can move between disciplines, understand different worlds and connect ideas that don’t obviously belong together.
A call to curiosity – lean in
London’s Image Problem
PR on the front cover of a newspaper caught my eye as I was queuing up at the airport gate.
A City AM front page highlighted a new initiative bringing together some of the City’s most influential institutions to challenge what they see as inaccurate narratives about London and promote the capital as a destination for global investment.
I then checked into my LinkedIn and saw City AM Editor at Large, Christian May posted a hard hitting call to PRs to stop with their AI slop.
Communicating Complexity
In Istanbul for the 3rd Global Islamic Economy Summit at the Istanbul Financial Centre as part of the AlBaraka Summit Series.
I’m also glad to have Hasan Salim Patel with me. He’s attending the summit too and has kindly taken on the role of my unofficial photographer 🤗
I will be interviewing my good friend Gökhan Yücel previously heading StratComms for the Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye and now leading comms for Investment and Finance Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye. We will be discussing soft power and how to cut through complexity in a noisy world.
Delighted to catch up with friends and colleagues from all over the world 🌍
Sidra Iqbal, Natavan Mammadova, Nourhan Hafez, Efnan Han and more.
Until next week.
Originally featured in Substack
