Hi, I'm Sho
I am a communications coach for activists, and I experiment with mixed communication methods.
Scroll down to see some of my work and experiments or subscribe to my YouTube channel about comms for activists.
No, Conservatives are not better at comms
Warnings from an anti-abortion 'messaging course'
Letters to the editor: an underrated activist action (with Hamir Patel)
The voices we need
I scout for the kind of activists our movement needs to hear more from, coach them in using their voice, and find ways for them to be heard.
The voices we need
I scout for the kind of activists our movement needs to hear more from, coach them in using their voice, and find ways for them to be heard.
I supported 19 young women from across southern Africa to tell their story as they created a regional strategy for women’s power with Oxfam.
I provided communications coaching for four months remotely, and in person and at workshops in Malawi & South Africa.
I have helped activists from refugees to girl guides prepare for media interviews and public speaking at events from a UN Summit to a parliamentary committee meeting.
I have given this training for activists and NGO staff from 15 countries, and blogged on specific tips for supporting young speakers.
I trained seven sexual rights activists from Honduras to Nepal in storytelling for advocacy. They used this in their local campaigns for gay marriage and reproductive rights and then we co-created a toolkit where their voices narrated how these techniques worked – or didn’t.
The ideas we need
I work with ideas which have been dismissed but whose time has come, helping to find the message and messengers that bring that time closer.
The ideas we need
I work with ideas which have been dismissed but whose time has come, helping to find the message and messengers that bring that time closer.
I led advocacy for a campaign to reorientate education towards learning kindness, curiosity and bravery. I created content (including a podcast interviewing prime ministers, scientists and 11 year olds) and organised lobbying which influenced policy at the UN, EU, and in Silicon Valley.
I coached 50 consumer rights groups from 30 countries in how to connect campaigns with comms.
When they decided to focus on tackling consumerism, I helped them articulate a positive vision of ‘Sharing Community’.
I have delivered 100+ mainstream media stories across four continents: from front-page exposés on dirty trade deals, to the housing crisis on primetime TV, and opinion articles by local spokespeople in Nepal, Tanzania, UK, USA, and Uganda – published simultaneously for a global launch.
The experiments
we need
My background is in media and messaging, but I like to experiment with adding visual, audio, and interactive ways of communicating.
I am a master of none – but I share so my learning is useful for others.
The experiments
we need
My background is in media and messaging, but I like to experiment with adding visual, audio, and interactive ways of communicating.
I am a master of none – but I share so my learning is useful for others.
A ‘Creative Emergency Kit’ to break free from bad brainstorms.
With lego, word magnets, and 12 other simple activities, it is designed for all those meetings where someone asks for “creative thinking”… but does not bring any.
In my graphic design diploma I played with visual techniques to make political points. I hand-made 1960s protest signs updated for todays issues: lino-cut printing about police brutality, dioramas for migrant rights, etc.
I am integrating these techniques into my coaching exercises for activists.
I summarised the latest research on framing and messaging into a “Bluffer’s Guide to Framing”. It covered everything from migration to reproductive rights to climate change, summarising the takeaway insights and practical recommendations that busy activists could use in their day-to-day work.
