[Article] “Communicating ideas” by Benjamin Todd, Benjamin Hilton

Many of the highest-impact people in history have been communicators and advocates of one kind or another.

Take Rosa Parks, who in 1955 refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus, sparking a protest which led to a Supreme Court ruling that segregated buses were unconstitutional. Parks was a seamstress in her day job, but in her spare time she was involved with the civil rights movement. When Parks sat down on that bus, she wasn’t acting spontaneously: just a few months before she’d been attending workshops on effective communication and civil disobedience, and the entire arrest was carefully planned by Parks and the local NAACP. After she was arrested, they used widely distributed fliers to launch a total boycott of buses in a city with 40,000 African Americans, while simultaneously pushing forward with legal action. This led to major progress for civil rights.

There are many skills that can help you communicate ideas.

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Outline:

(01:42) Why can communication careers be high impact?

(06:20) What do communication careers involve?

(09:15) How a communication career evolves over time

(10:30) Examples of people pursuing this path

(12:12) How to know if you might be a good fit for communication careers

(12:16) Early signs of fit

(13:16) How to tell if you’re on track once you’ve gotten started

(14:40) How to get started in communication careers

(14:45) Honing your craft

(16:46) Finding your audience

(17:53) Get funding

(18:42) Apply for free one-on-one advising

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First published:
September 17th, 2023

Source:
https://80000hours.org/articles/communication