Diversity Belonging + Inclusion and Master Media Engagement
August 11th, 2021
Lori Campbell, newly appointed Associate Vice President, Indigenous Engagement, at the University of Regina has a long history of advocacy. A survivor of the infamous “Sixties Scoop”, she has used her voice to amplify issues affecting Indigenous peoples for many years, responding to media interview requests despite the challenges of doing so. We […]
read more...Giving media interviews through trauma — and giving back to community
Improve your Writing
November 18th, 2020
Twitter and Facebook have a lot to answer for: rampant misinformation, spiralling conspiracy theories, plummeting productivity. (And that’s just in my family!) But I fear social media echo chambers are also undermining our persuasive capacity. It’s so easy to share the stuff we agree with, and condemn the stuff that’s so obviously WRONG, without going […]
read more...4 tips for moving past mere ranting to effective persuasion
Diversity Belonging + Inclusion and Master Media Engagement
November 4th, 2020
and Amy Ede. In the context of our collaboration to engage and support more Indigenous women and gender diverse people in being heard through the media, the two recently sat down (virtually) to discuss related ideas. SHARI: I’m embarrassed to admit that when we started Informed Opinions in 2010, I seriously under-estimated the obstacles to […]
read more...Why is it so crucial that we hear from Indigenous women?
Diversity Belonging + Inclusion and Our Advocacy Work
September 23rd, 2020
One of the wonderful things about truly inspiring people is that their influence outlasts them. The power of their actions and words can continue to change minds and motivate choices well beyond their time among us. It requires no prescience to predict that this will be true of the just-passed Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Yes, the […]
read more...Four Lessons from the Life and Advocacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Our Advocacy Work
May 21st, 2020
Meg moved quickly behind me to close the door to her office not wanting her staff to overhear. I had showed up in advance of the MediaWatch board meeting in 1990 to let her know that even though I’d only joined the board six months previously, I would be resigning at this, my second meeting. […]
read more...Tell your mentors how much you appreciate their impact while you can
Our Advocacy Work
May 12th, 2020
Is it possible to eat your weight in popcorn? I appear to be trying. The pandemic lock-down has also given me permission to double my chocolate intake, consume cookies at breakfast and microwave chunks of cheese on a plate so I can scrape the stuff into my mouth with a fork. The grapes have become […]
read more...How to Cope with the Coronavirus Shutdown
Our Advocacy Work
February 25th, 2020
In the 10 years since Informed Opinions began training women across sectors and fields to share their insights and analysis with the media, we’ve delivered almost 250 workshops to more than 3500 participants. More than half of those sessions have focused on a five-step process designed to support subject matter experts in translating their knowledge […]
read more...More women’s voices shaping Canada’s public conversations
Increase Your Impact as a Speaker and Presenter
December 11th, 2019
I don’t recommend crying on stage if you can avoid it. So I didn’t. But I wanted to. Last month, I got to deliver a 15-minute TED-style talk to a global leadership conference hosted by the International Women’s Forum. The IWF’s 1100-plus attendees were assembled in a cavernous Toronto hotel ballroom featuring massive screens designed […]
read more...Cry if you want to: Anatomy of a 15-minute high-stakes keynote
Our Advocacy Work
February 5th, 2019
This article was originally published in The Toronto Star Could the incentivizing power of a fitness tracker be adapted to help achieve gender equality in the media, enhancing Canadian democracy in the process? After a year of collaboration with a team of big data scientists, we’re about to find out. Despite the increasing attention paid to […]
read more...Online tool gives media outlets incentive to achieve gender parity
