A Holiday Wish List for PR Pros

That Solo Life, Episodede 326: A Holiday Wish List for PR Pros

The key points from the transcript are:
The hosts, Michelle Kane and Karen Swim, are discussing the end-of-year "silly season" and the challenges solo PR professionals face with clients during this time of year. [0:35] [0:53] [1:23]
For their "Dear Santa" wishlist, the hosts suggest the following for solo PR pros in the coming year:
Sanity and clarity in presenting their value and telling their own story, rather than just "getting things done." [2:38]
More confidence and assertiveness to have a stronger seat at the table. [3:48]
Delightful and joyful clients that are a good fit. [6:09]
Experiencing unexpected positive changes or opportunities in their lives and work. [6:51] [7:49]
More fun, playfulness, and creativity in their work. [9:35]

Michelle Kane (00:00):
Working. Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers and communicators who work for themselves. People like me, Michelle Cain of Voice Matters, and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hey. Hey Karen.
Karen Swim, APR (00:27):
How are you today? Hello, Michelle. I am doing well, thank you. How are you doing? Good, good.
Michelle Kane (00:35):
We're making a run for the end of the year. It's the some, call it the silly season. The holidays are here, ready or not. And so yeah, just try to keep one eye on work and another eye on all the things and well, that's all the eyes I have. So
Karen Swim, APR (00:53):
My soul motivation every single day this week has been, we're almost there. I know,
Michelle Kane (01:01):
Right? If I were a better journaler, I would remember this and hopefully be able to be ready for it, but it seems like every year there's that date. That's a turning point in the single digits of December. You're like, I got time. I'll do this calmly and it'll be fine. And then around the teens of the month, you're like,
Karen Swim, APR (01:23):
Oh yeah. Well, I feel like some of that is driven by our clients, right? Because there is a point where things quiet down and they did this year too. They quiet it where all the meetings are done and you're free of that. But then all of a sudden following that quiet period comes like, let's do this before you're in. And that's hard. I feel like that's the part that's not always the same every year. It kind of depends on what's been going on all year long.
Michelle Kane (02:00):
So true, so true. So that's why we thought we're just going to keep it light today because we know everyone just wants to keep it light this week and we want to talk about, oh, I don't know, dear Santa, what are you going to put under our Christmas tree or under our manure in the coming year? This is what we want to see and or hear.
Karen Swim, APR (02:23):
Yes. Dear Santa,
Michelle Kane (02:25):
Dear Santa's, our PR pros, wishlist. Wishlist, sanity. No, I joke.
Karen Swim, APR (02:36):
No, that's a great one. Sanity is
Michelle Kane (02:38):
Good. Sanity is good. Clarity. Santa, I think actually, and just to really distill that down, I A Wish for the coming year is really that just we as solos and as an industry, because we've been talking about this a lot lately, we'll focus on really keeping track of how we are presenting our value in everything we do and resist that urge to become the machines that we can be of just getter done and remember, because I don't know about you, but it does frustrate me when I see companies, administrations get stuff done quietly and then people think they're not really doing anything because they don't take the time to tell their own story. Because if they're like-minded like many of us, and you just think whatever, it's just what I do. No, you have to tell your own story. So bring us a nice storybook Santa.
Karen Swim, APR (03:48):
I love that. One thing on my list to Santa for solo PR pros would be confidence. I hope that everyone is able to operate with more confidence and strength because what we do really does matter, and this ties into what you were saying, but I feel like sometimes we're not, we're uncertain. And so that uncertainty comes across. It comes across in us having a seat at the table. We can be tentative sometimes we can be, it comes across as maybe humility, but it really is a little bit of fear and uncertainty and insecurity. Am I that good? Can I handle that? Can I do that? Should I charge that? So I hope that all solo PR pros will have more confidence about the work that they do and the results that they deliver in 2026.
Michelle Kane (04:46):
That's perfect. And a perfect pairing with that. A nice cheese and wine is assertiveness because I learned long ago, shout out to my former workmate Linda. She was a great example of assertion, not aggression. And I think especially sometimes coming from women, it can be seen as aggressive. But no, you can be assertive and stand for what you mean and what you want and what you say, and that will help your confidence as well. Because I don't know, I always figure if I know I'm right or it's the right thing to do, there really shouldn't be any doubt.
Karen Swim, APR (05:27):
I love that. I love that. And I will say that for women in particular, even if your assertiveness is misperceived as aggression, it doesn't matter. It really doesn't. We have to learn to teach people that it really is okay for us to be human beings, and we're not going to get anywhere in our careers in the work landscape by being quiet, little mousey people, male or female, whatever gender you are, it doesn't work. You have to be assertive, and I think that that shows that you care about the work too. So I agree. Totally.
Michelle Kane (06:08):
Yeah.
Karen Swim, APR (06:09):
I would also add to the list that I hope Santa brings every solo pro a slate of clients that brings them delight and joy. That's a good fit for you because that's different for all of us. I hope that Santa brings you clients that are in the industries that you want to work on, that are the size clients that you want, that have the company culture that you are so excited to be part of, and that engaged services that make you feel like, I would do this job for free because I'm so happy. Don't do it for free. But that feeling of like, I would do this because I love it. So that's Santa. Get your elves on that right now because
Michelle Kane (06:51):
Yeah, there we go. There we go. Sometimes with that, and this is where Santa can be magical. This isn't really one thing, but sometimes things happen in our lives or we come across people or situations and it turns into that thing that we didn't even realize that we really needed. So that would be so wonderful if our solos could experience that. I don't know what that is. I don't know what it's for me, but
Karen Swim, APR (07:21):
For many of us, for me personally, I can say this 2025 was the year that I was a leveled in every single area of my life. Talk about a level set to corporate speak. I was leveled. I was leveled and mowed over by one of those, I don't know what those big things are called. The name is blinking up the machines that trudge down the dirt and make it all level after it's like dug it out with the excavator,
Michelle Kane (07:48):
A steam
Karen Swim, APR (07:49):
Molar. Yes, thank you. That was me. It's like, hello, hello, Karen swim. I'm going to flatten you. But after the flattening comes the pretty new parts, and so I really hope, because this has been a lot of us, I hope the pretty new parts start to bloom in December because December's not over yet, and when you hear this episode, there will still be days left. So I hope that you start to see that, okay, the leveling was needed. It allowed something different, something new, something better, brighter, more modern, more of a fit, because I mean,
Michelle Kane (08:32):
It's so true, so true. And honestly, we wish you joy, and that doesn't mean that everything's going to be sunshine and roses and unicorns and buy a box of lucky charms for that. But I really hope that we all can either maintain, rediscover the joy in what we do, because let's face it, these last five, 10 years have been a slog or even farther. We've all had something. I mean, yeah, I would say these past few years, especially for me, have been like one thing to the next thing, to the next thing, and I just hope we can find, what do they call them? Shimmers or glimmers, even if you can find that, even if you create that for yourself. I know sometimes for me, I just run down the list and no, I can't take five minutes to make a cup of tea. Take the five minutes, go outside, take a breath or scream into the ether. Whatever works for you, that's our wish for you.
Karen Swim, APR (09:35):
I love that fun. I would say, dear Santa, bring us fun. We all need to tap into that playful side and that I think that having fun and doing things just because they delight you is something that we can lose as we grow older and in the day to day of the doing. We're so busy
(09:59):
With our list of things that must be done that sometimes we forget to do things just because they can be done and having fun should carry over into your work. Allow yourself to be wildly creative to do something that you've not done before. Take the barriers off because clients will respond to that. Sometimes we're so used to being boxed into the corporate mindset and we find ourselves, we hop on a call and we're speaking like the client and we're doing things and we dial back the wildly creative to what we think is going to be creatively acceptable because we've all gotten our hand slapped, or we've all seen our wildly creative ideas get dumbed down where it's like, that's not what I was really thinking. But let's take those barriers off and get back at the table where we allow our minds to just have fun and do something that's completely different. Propose things that are completely different. If it gets shot down, that's okay. It doesn't take away the joy of creativity and how it energizes your brain. So give us fun. Bring back fun.
Michelle Kane (11:23):
Yes, please, please. Oh my goodness. It takes me back to my Doms Ski Simon Agency days where our art department has a whole catalog of made up songs. I love it. Just to each other. Yes, they put the cup in the trash can dance. It's not going to make any sense to our listeners, but we might've done a Congo liner or two from South Street back to the office after our Christmas lunches or around the building when we needed inspiration chanting sheet cake. Maybe that might've happened if you were around eighth and Pine in Philly in the nineties and you saw that hi, and we weren't even drunk. Well, maybe we sniffed a few markers. We don't know. But honestly, I mean it, it energizes you. It energizes your work and it reminds you why you are in the creative sphere to begin with. And make no mistake, we are, even though a lot of times we're knee deep in strategy and tactics, it's still creation, which it's also why we need to replenish ourselves. So Santa, put a lot of goodies under our tree this year and remind us to be good to ourselves so we can in turn be good to others.
Karen Swim, APR (12:39):
Yes, and I mean we're using Santa, but no shade to people who celebrate other things again. That's right. Whether it's your Hanukkah gifts or hey, the gifts Santas for everybody this year.
Michelle Kane (12:57):
Yes. Your holiday being.
Karen Swim, APR (12:59):
Yes.
Michelle Kane (13:00):
There you go. Yeah. Well, we thank you for spending time with us every week, and we wish you every good thing over these next few weeks as we approach the end of the year. And until next time, thanks for listening to that solo life.

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