Was there anything you discovered while writing Overcommunicate that made you rethink your own communication style?
Chapter 2 is titled “To Overcommunicate You Must First Listen.” The chapter is all about being a good listener and asking better questions of the people you work with which will allow you to understand your business better. That is the one area I have most intently focused on…to be a better listener.
How has your professional expertise in communication changed the way you
communicate with your family and closest friends?
Again, referencing a chapter from Overcommunicate, Chapter 4 is titled “The Illusion We Are Communicating When We’re Not”. Whether it’s for business or in someone’s personal life, this is crucial because if you are only focused on your communication techniques and not those of others you are communicating with, there will be a breakdown and misunderstandings, because people come at this topic many different ways based on their backgrounds and personalities.
You've gone from being behind the microphone and in front of the camera to helping executives become better communicators themselves. Do you still consider yourself a journalist at heart, or has
entrepreneurship changed your professional identity?
I will always consider myself a journalist at heart. Those skills have allowed me to best serve my clients, but what I am doing now is not journalism, it is helping my clients be their best, most effective communicators.
If you could sit down with the younger Rob Johnson, the journalist just beginning his career, and give him one piece of advice about communicating, building relationships and navigating transitions, what would you tell him?
I would tell young Rob that trust is your currency, no matter what career you choose. I would also tell him that from the very beginning you have a professional brand, personal brand, and benevolent brand (if you value not-for-profit work and helping others), and you must feed them all.
You’ve experienced several major transitions: journalist to entrepreneur, communicator to author, interviewer to coach. What transition do you think is still ahead for you, and what are you most excited to become next?
The book has allowed me to begin Overcommunicate workshops, master classes, and keynote speeches for companies and their leadership teams. I am excited about growing that part of the business, because watching leaders have the proverbial light go on when it comes to communications is so gratifying.