I partnered with IABC Colorado in January 2026 to lead a discussion, "Have we taken metrics too far in communications?" for Colorado-local IABC members and communicators.

Event type: Roundtable; 90-minute facilitated discussion over coffee

Topics covered: Common metrics in internal communications, how impact shows up in communications work outside of metrics, what we sacrifice when we optimize for metric performance over quality communications, and how the data (metrics) and human (employee behavior) lenses work together

Attendees: Communicators of varying tenures and specializations

How we connected: Previously connected with the IABC Colorado President, Tobi Anderson, through ACMP Colorado

IABC Colorado President Tobi Anderson invited me to facilitate a 90-minute in-person conversation for Colorado-based communicators on a topic of my choice, with approval from IABC Colorado. The goal of the event was to facilitate an engaging, informative, and memorable discussion among IABC Colorado members and other local communicators. I had full creative freedom over the event, including the conversation topic, structure, and format. 

Upon presenting my ideas to Tobi, we agreed on "Have we taken metrics too far in communication?" as the event topic. 

With 90 minutes for the conversation, I sought to structure the discussion in a way that would allow me to: 

• Create an environment in which attendees would feel comfortable sharing their experiences openly
• Develop enough of a structured approach that I could facilitate the conversation with ease while leaving enough space for conversation topics to emerge throughout the process
• Create a list of discussion questions for the conversation, and provide a physical copy of the questions so attendees can continue the conversation with their teams and other communicators 
• Translate the primary focus of the discussion (pairing metrics with behavior) into a practical approach
• Create some level of exclusivity to ensure the event is memorable and unique

With these goals in mind, I developed an outline for the conversation as follows: 

1. Light introductions (~10 minutes)

2. Kick off with fill-in-the-blank questions to start the conversation without deep thought needed to respond (~5-10 minutes)

3. Large bank of discussion questions for the bulk of the conversation (~60 minutes)

4. End-of-session wrap-up and fill-in-the-blank reflection questions to gauge attendee learning and satisfaction (~10 minutes)

Here are some ways I leaned in to make the experience an enjoyable one:

• I designed the event to accommodate different processing and participation styles. Some participants enjoy engaging in light conversation; others are quieter and often need more time to process. Conversations are often a lot of fun in the moment, but once we leave and jump right back into our to-dos, it's easy to forget points worth remembering. I created a notes document for the processors and quiet thinkers to have somewhere to digest information outside the conversation, and for everyone to have something to remember the event by. It contained:
  • Ground rules for the conversation
  • A list of some of the discussion questions from my large bank (some we discussed, others we didn't get to, but participants could easily take the questions back to their teams)
  • Plenty of space to write and take notes throughout the conversation
  • A "take-with-you activity" (a light exercise) centered around pairing metrics and behavior that attendees could use in their work right away, complete with an example of what the activity can help teams do

• I created an exclusive experience through physical items. Besides the physical handouts, I created relevant stickers for this event and set them out on the tables for participants to take one if they wished. I haven't (and likely won't) give them to anyone outside of this group of attendees. Limited availability creates a unique experience.
• I carefully selected icebreakers that wouldn't require deep consideration to alleviate pressure. There's nothing worse than being put on the spot to answer an icebreaker that you don't have an answer to, need time to think about, or doesn't apply to you. Instead, we kicked off the conversation with a light-hearted, "What's one thing you're looking forward to this week/in the upcoming future, personally or professionally?" Questions like these break down initial barriers and give participants a chance to share more about themselves.
• I added some color and joy to the environment. I led an event for communicators, so they showed up with their notebooks and pens (because that's who we are). But since I printed handouts and didn't tell participants in advance to bring pens/pencils, I brought colorful mechanical pencils and set them out on the tables for use (and to keep). A bit of color added warmth and openness to the scene (and invites more joy than we often give it credit for).