I have always been obsessed with the subtleties of communication–the essence, the intention, the energy behind how it all plays out.

When I was younger, I had no idea what I wanted to be, but I had a very clear picture of how I wanted to feel.

This obsession with the nuance of our interpersonal lives, led me to pursue far too much school. It started with a bachelors degree in psychology with a minor in sociology and then a masters in communication. It was a love triangle of social science looking at the individual, the group, and what connected them. I quit making the classroom my playground after the first year of a PhD program and made the real world my textbook and lab instead.

I knew I wasn’t built for shitty office lighting, so I never worked an office job and instead opted to bet on myself by working as a freelancer right out of college alongside the graduate program.

Expression and communication are often used interchangeably but they exist on a spectrum where the goal of the message is different. Expression is more about sharing your truth, with less interest in the other person receiving the information accurately. Communication is about getting to shared understanding, persuasion, or influence.

I’ve spent my personal and professional life obsessed with answering questions about both.

Professionally, it led me down the path of brand strategy and communication consulting, helping brands and passionate people communicate their big ideas effectively. And another path of helping people and teams relate better to one another.

Personally, it has led me to pursue wildly meaningful relationships founded on honesty, vulnerability, and a mutual commitment to growth.

It has also led to me an endless curiosity about the stories we tell ourselves and the stories we tell others. How our attention shapes our reality and how what we perceive is is likely wildly different than what someone else is perceiving.

This is the mess and magic of being human, and I am here for it all.

Make it Mentionable is where I write about all of this, because as the late Fred Rogers said, “Anything that is human can be mentioned, and anything that can be mentioned, can be managed.”

Or as I like to say, whatever we can mention, we can manage.

If you would like help translating the wild, hairy, grand ideas in your head into clarity, I offer spark sessions to help ignite that fire.

If you want words to help you articulate something you’ve been feeling but haven’t known how to put into words, my poetry and lyrics for life are here to help.

If you want perspectives on the layers of life, my musings in the Make it Mentionable newsletter are a great place to start.

I write essays on courage, personal agency, perception, relationships, self-expression, and the subtle ways people become more—or less—visible to themselves.

I invite you to explore. I’m glad you’re here.

xx,
Alyssa