Impactful Communication: Susan Stipa Of CG Life On 5 Essential Techniques for Becoming an Effective Communicator
An Interview With Athalia Monae
Be authentic and tell the story from your point of view, with supporting facts and ideas from others to strengthen your point of view.
In an age dominated by digital communication, the power of articulate and effective verbal communication cannot be understated. Whether it’s delivering a keynote address, leading a team meeting, or engaging in a one-on-one conversation, impactful speaking can open doors, inspire change, and create lasting impressions. But what truly sets apart an effective communicator? What techniques and nuances elevate a speech from mundane to memorable? As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Susan Stipa.
Susan Stipa is an engineering, science, biopharma, and healthcare marketing guru, bringing more than 30 years of diverse experience and brainpower to the world of life science and healthcare communications. As Executive Vice President of Biopharma Strategy at the life- science-centric marketing agency CG Life, Susan is a trusted advisor to biopharma, life science, and healthcare companies of all stages, seamlessly combining her chemical engineering background and scientific expertise with creative marketing strategies.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about communication, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
As a chemical engineer by training combined with right-brain creativity, I help pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare companies shine a spotlight on their science — creatively, conversationally, and with pizzazz. I help these companies execute their business goals by offering a fresh and unique perspective on client challenges and bridging the gap between science and marketing to help companies communicate their science. But where did I begin?
Once I received my degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia, I began working in chemical engineering roles at Hoffmann La Roche and Rheometrics, with a stint as Global Marketing Lead for world financing powerhouse De Lage Landen and serving as the Commercial Director of Foster Wheeler/Biokinetics, leading the company’s business development and marketing efforts.
From there, I went on to start my own pharmaceutical marketing communications firm, McDay, the first of its kind in the U.S., which I ran for seven years and won multiple awards before we were acquired by CG Life in 2020.
Now, as Executive Vice President of Biopharma Strategy at the life-science-centric marketing agency CG Life, I am a trusted advisor to biopharma, life science, and healthcare companies of all stages, combining my chemical engineering background and scientific expertise with creative marketing strategies.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Any successful business leader is a problem solver.
If I had to share my number one trait for successful business leaders, it would be nimbleness and the ability to pivot quickly and not agonize over decisions.
Nimbleness is probably not truly a character trait, but twin characteristics like creativity and resilience are. Nimbleness encompasses them both. It is the ability to always think a few steps ahead so that you can respond clearly and creatively to the problem at hand. This takes some practice, because while I have always been nimble of heart and spirit, my ability to speak up and offer solutions took years of practice and watching others who spoke up confidently. Now, this superpower of nimbleness allows me to quickly respond to problem situations.
Number two would be empathy.
A boss of mine once said that she wanted me in any important meeting with her because of my ability to read the room. It took me years to figure out what she meant — I had a skill to often tell what is driving people by deeply listening, watching body language, and feeling folks’ stories. Putting yourself in the place of others — customers, employees, teammates, and the lady who makes your sandwich everyday at Subway — cannot ever be underemphasized. I was recently on a call with a client overcome with stress. She had asked us to imagine being in her position — amidst a global mega-merger, she is an American, non-technical, non-marketing background now in charge of aligning thousands of employees along a new rebrand path. We hadn’t known, but once we created a space comfortable enough for her to share and we were able to empathize with her position, our performance as an organization just got that much stronger.
Number three would be preparation, organization and follow up.
It’s important not to be afraid to practice before any big presentation, whether it is a 15 minute conference call with your boss or a presentation in front of hundreds of people. Prepare and write your questions down. What do you want folks to remember from this interaction? Make a list everyday and prioritize it by accomplishing the most important things first. But also recognize when you need a break in your schedule and weave in things that provide your brain a complete rest. For me, that’s running, playing tennis, or reading a good book. During those activities, I can literally feel those brainpaths allowing the mental break to happen.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic definition so that we are all on the same page. How would you define an “Effective Communicator?” What are the characteristics of an effective communicator?
An effective communicator makes people remember what he or she says. Whether it’s in the cadence of speech, or in the pauses and length of sentences used (there are definitely different styles of communicators), being an effective communicator means the audience/listener remembers what he or she says and then can articulate it clearly to others afterwards.
How can one tailor their communication style to different audiences or situations?
I think this is a matter of energy. You have to understand the energy of the room and feel the audience’s appetite for either a high energy communication and some laughs, or persuasion and a slower cadence of speech and more “do you have questions” type of approach. It involves instinct and a lot of practice, as well.
Can you provide an example of a time when you had to adapt your communication style to reach a particular audience successfully?
I probably have hundreds of examples of this because I always adapt my communication style to to the specific situation. If I am in a room working to close a deal, I have a very clear sense of the way I want the conversation to go and of the questions I’ll need to ask to get closer and closer to “closing the deal.” But if I am trying to gain consensus on an idea, or a new creative rebrand, then I have to win their hearts first and that’s a very different type of communication.
My public speaking experience spans a wide spectrum — as a panel moderator where your goal is to create chemistry and encourage sharing within a group of presenters, as a professional presenting capabilities to client prospects who don’t know you at all, as a partner tasked with keeping long-term clients happy week in and week out bringing fresh ideas to the table as well as preparing them for media interviews. Have you noticed a consistent theme? Preparation and nimbleness.
How do you handle difficult or sensitive conversations while maintaining open and effective communication?
By being disarmingly candid and well prepared. What do you want to communicate — what is the end game that you are looking to achieve?
In your experience, how does storytelling play a role in impactful speaking? Why do you think stories are effective in communication?
Storytelling is baked into our earliest memories. The comfort and “settling in” sensation we feel when a speaker begins to tell a story means we are immediately dialed in and actively listening. The ability to feel ourselves in a story means the speaker has already gotten our hearts to listen, and then the brain can follow if there are lessons to be dispensed or… Sorry, I’m teasing you with this lead up.
Stories are personal, warm, and connective, and that’s why the best speakers use them.
What are your “ Essential Techniques for Becoming an Effective Communicator”?
1. Trust that you have an interesting perspective.
Everyone has a story to tell. With our clients, many of whom are scientists and engineers, they haven’t often been asked to frame their work story into a tellable story, but the story is there. Our job is to give them the confidence to find it and articulate it simply and memorably. In life sciences, there is usually a patient who is being cared for at the end of every one of our client’s stories. In our office, I encourage all of our staff to have time and space to brainstorm ideas and our group brainstorms have become a PR department favorite. I love that mentoring role, in helping our teammates find their voice and be confident enough to throw ideas on the table. Everyone has an interesting perspective, but not every workplace makes it comfortable to explore. CG Life is a safe place and our clients benefit from the great ideas allowed to flourish here.
2 . Be authentic and tell the story from your point of view, with supporting facts and ideas from others to strengthen your point of view.
3 . Find the personal connection wherever you can
Inspire them. Tell stories. This goes back to being authentic, but a level deeper because sharing a personal story can connect deeply. I recently shared a deeply personal health story with a podcast host and we both could feel that ‘moment’ when we knew we had created something special for her listeners.
4 . Don’t assume that people know you or what you’ll be presenting.
When presenters are too invested in what they feel they need to present, they forget the listener may not have a bit of interest in that — they are likely interested in hearing information relevant to their unique situation. You should make sure to tell people from the start what you are going to cover and sometimes what your presentation will not cover. It’s very effective to keep attention.
5. Give them one lasting thing to remember.
Whether it is one interesting fact your audience can share with their colleagues, a personal story they can share around the dinner table with family, or just how your talk made them feel. Making sure you include a lasting moment ensures your presentation won’t be forgotten outside the auditorium doors.
How do you integrate non-verbal cues into your communication? Can you provide an example of its importance?
Recently, I was asked to speak to one of our clients’ sales teams, and when I arrived, I saw the “team” was over 150 international salespeople sitting in what felt like the colosseum of an auditorium. The stage and microphone were waiting for me. Arriving last, I realized my entrance was going to be pretty spectacular if I tripped down a fifty step steep staircase!
Starting off on the right foot (no pun intended), I started speaking before I descended the staircase, greeting folks and talking to the woman on stage who had just introduced me. The energy created when a presenter begins speaking is 80% of the way they can connect.
In addition, I maintained eye contact as I walked across that stage. No matter the speaking engagement, it is important to keep your eyes moving and make eye contact with as many people as you can in the room.
Finally, smiling has a way of making your voice energized and there are studies that prove that.
Public speaking is a common fear. What techniques or strategies do you recommend to manage and overcome stage fright?
I overcome stage fright by doing everything they tell you NOT to do. I memorize. I write and rewrite my speech, panel discussion, or moderator session over several weeks. If you memorize, then you can go off the cuff so much more easily. I never speak to what is on the slides — never. The slides are just there to keep things flowing and organized. I may touch on items on the slides, but I trust that my audience can listen and read slides and frankly, I’d rather they listen to me. Over time, I’ve realized that speaking in public does get easier and easier with practice. If I don’t know the answer, I just say so. I am always more anxious during the few days prior and then it always goes well, so I try to tell myself not to waste energy being nervous anymore.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 😊
I have two, actually. I am part of a movement to develop medicines in plant cells, called Phylloceuticals, and I firmly believe that this is the way we will manufacture many of our medicines of today in the future.
When I retire, I also want to work on changing maternity leave policy. I’ve made great strides in my career, helping change the work-life balance paradigm and yet, I am still frustrated by the fact that my daughter had to go back to work 12 weeks after having her baby. Her distress mirrored the very vivid memory of my own after I gave birth. The day she went back to work, I was speaking to friends in Australia and the Netherlands, who reminded me that Australia’s policy is nine months maternity leave for moms and three months for dads. In the Netherlands, a woman gets a year of maternity leave to be with their babies. I still shudder to remember that terrible anticipatory dread I had during maternity leave, knowing that in however many weeks, I would have to go back to work. It’s just way too young to leave your young, nursing baby with others and return to work when he/she is only 12 pounds big… Who is with me?
How can our readers further follow you online?
They can follow me on LinkedIn.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About the Interviewer: Athalia Monae is a product creator, published author, entrepreneur, advocate for Feed Our Starving Children, contributing writer for Entrepreneur Media, and founder of Pouches By Alahta.
Impactful Communication: Susan Stipa Of CG Life On 5 Essential Techniques for Becoming an Effective… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.