Three Things I’ve Learned…Kinley Pearsall

PRovoke Media7th October 2022

Kinley Pearsall, VP of global retail, devices and Alexa communications on Amazon's worldwide communications team, shares the key lessons she has learned since the pandemic began.

After more than two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, it can be hard to quantify the ways in which we have changed. Our pandemic coverage helps us understand the industry impact, and it seems unlikely that any of our content has been untouched by the unique circumstances that have taken root since the start of 2020.

But so much of that change has occurred at a human level, where many of the lessons emerge from the various conversations and anecdotes that underpin our stories and events. To better showcase these learnings, and provide a measure of insight into how the global PR industry is responding to such a transformative era, this series asks people what they have learned, according to three specific areas.

In the latest installment in our series, we hear from Amazon’s Worldwide Communications’ Kinley Pearsall, VP of global retail, devices, & Alexa communications.

Three things I’ve learned… 

Career
I’ve always had a hard time asking for help. I felt bad asking someone on my team to do something that I can do for myself, especially knowing how busy everyone is. During the pandemic, I bet all of us discovered we can’t do everything on our own, and we all need help here and there. I was lucky to have incredible teammates — people stepped up to help each other (and me!) in ways I never could have imagined. Today, I think a lot differently about asking for help and recognize there are positive outcomes too. It can be an opportunity for someone else to step up, learn a new skill, and build connections with their teammates.

PR
The pandemic was a strong reminder that our communication strategies must be informed by our customers. What we do, when we do it, and how we say it can have a profound impact on how information is received. To get ahead of this, we must be purposeful in collecting inputs, seeking diverse perspectives, diving deeper to understand what our customers are experiencing, and asking questions to inform our communication approaches.

Personal
I’ve learned how important it is to calibrate your speed. Things tend to look different when you’re approaching them at varying speeds. By changing up my speed (either slowing down and taking more time to think through a hard decision or speeding up on the things that don’t deserve as much of my time), I’ve started to learn more about myself, where I can add the most value, and how I can be the leader and person I want to be.

If you’d like to share your three lessons, please let us know. 

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