Reader · no content
No body text on file.
Open the original to read the full piece.
299. Choose The Right Channel: How Stanford Finds Its Voice
Brief
Farnaz Khadem, Stanford’s Vice President of University Communications, joined Matt Abrahams to map how modern institutions find their voice. Khadem opened with a simple framework — think in threes: know your goal, audience, and data — and used it to structure recommendations across channel strategy, storytelling, crisis management, training, listening, and AI. She urged a data‑driven, multi‑channel approach (short video and social for bite‑size audiences; longform selectively; media relations when third‑party credibility helps) and referenced Pew findings that about half of people get news via social platforms.
The conversation tracked from practical coaching — mentorship, on‑camera rehearsals, and the rule of three to help faculty and one‑person comms shops — to crisis playbooks: predefine top scenarios, assign roles, prioritize truth/transparency, communicate early and often, then run postmortems and forgive inevitable mistakes. On AI Khadem stressed moderation: every communications staffer sets an AI goal, and the team published guidelines that call for clear attribution and strict fact‑checking to avoid hallucinations. The hosts agreed on core themes (connection through personal storytelling, active listening, and preparation) and left listeners with operational advice to make organizational communication more intentional and resilient.
Why it matters
Farnaz Khadem (Vice President of University Communications, Stanford) frames communication around three guiding principles: know your goal, know your audience, and know your data — a framework she calls “thinking in threes.”
Key details
- Khadem recommends a data-driven, multi-channel approach: use short-form video/Instagram for audiences that prefer bite-sized content, retain longform selectively (rarely 2,000-word stories), and leverage media relations when third‑party amplification is preferable; she cited Pew research that roughly 50% of people now get news from social media.
- For crises Khadem advises advance preparation (identify your top five plausible scenarios, assign roles, get the right tools), then apply truth and transparency during events, communicate early and repeatedly, and perform post‑crisis reflection — Matt Abrahams summarized this as the three T’s: truth, transparency, timeliness.
- On AI, Stanford University Communications requires each staffer to set an AI goal; Khadem promotes a ‘moderation and methodical’ approach and co‑authored publicly available AI guidelines emphasizing attribution and rigorous fact‑checking to avoid hallucinations.
- To develop non‑communicators (faculty, lab staff), Khadem runs mentorship and training programs — practical tactics include the rule of three messaging, on‑camera practice, analogies/descriptive language, and building peer networks for one‑person comms shops across the university.