Latest / Expertly Said / Laura Lampa on Why Success Doesn’t Always Mean Being in the Spotlight
Transcript
- Kristen Sweeney: My guest today is Laura Lampa, Associate Director USRD Site Communications at APVI. Laura is a seasoned communications professional who specializes in helping organizations clarify their value, connect with key audiences, and drive action. Aspiring to contribute to a world where innovation supports equitable and sustainable wellness, she began her career as a scientist, working at the bench and eventually rising to leadership. Her experience spans global organizations and agile startups, including Monsanto. You're listening to Expertly Said, a podcast on the art and impact of communication. I'm Kristen Sweeney, founder and CEO of Every Little Word. Kaiser Permanente, AgroQuest, Bayer Crop Science, Ginkgo BioWorks, and AVI. This diverse background positions her to understand the challenges faced by mission-driven companies in agriculture, biopharma, and sustainability. Over the course of her career, Laura discovered her passion for communication. Realizing the power of words and storytelling to create connection and open minds, she spent more than a decade honing her skills. She spearheaded external engagement, internal communications, stakeholder alignment, branding initiatives, and training for scientists on how to communicate more effectively. At AVI, she leads RD site communications for their U.S. sites, helping to shape reputation and fully engage employees in the important work they contribute to every day. Laura, welcome to the show. Laura Lampa: Thanks, Kristen. I'm so excited to be here. Kristen Sweeney: Thank you. And you did a wonderful job sitting through the introduction. I'm I could pretty much promise the rest of the conversation is gonna be a little less awkward than that piece. So great work. Made it through the hardest part. That's it for this episode of Expertly Said. We are produced by Every Little Word, a boutique content and communications agency. If you like what you heard, you know what to do. Subscribe, share the episode with a colleague, or leave us a review. If you want to connect with me directly, please do. You can find me on LinkedIn, just search Kristen Sweeney. Thanks for listening. Talk soon. start with your origin story, so we heard a little bit about ⁓ the kind of broad outlines of your career, but can you can you color them in a little bit for us? Laura Lampa: Yeah, sure. So I started my career as a microbiologist. ⁓ I always thought I wanted to be a scientist growing up, and so that's what I became. And in my mind, I thought it would be so amazing if I could, you know, go back and get my PhD, rise into, you know, R D leadership. ⁓ that was really my my passion, my goal. And I think over the course of my career I started to learn that Kristen Sweeney: Okay. Laura Lampa: Hmm, I don't think I want to be an expert. I actually really loved being a generalist and kind of knowing everything. ⁓ and then as I kind of went through my career, I started to realize, and especially as I did start to get into RD leadership roles, that this might not be for me. I actually really loved the science communication piece and talking about the science, not only to other scientists, but to broad audiences too. you know, the school children that would come in and visit or their teachers, ⁓ friends and family. I'd love talking about science to grower groups or legislators that would come and visit. And so I wanted to be I wanted to, you know, pursue a path where I could make an impact in a in a much different way, in a broader way. Kristen Sweeney: Yeah. Tell me about I think it's very honest of you to say like R and D leadership maybe wasn't the right fit. Did you miss moving away from the work itself? Or what was less feeling aligned for you? Laura Lampa: I think there was, you know, definitely a feeling of I miss being a part of R and D. But I think once I started to get more into the leadership roles, I started to realize it wasn't necessarily all about strategy. It was a lot of dealing with personnel issues, ⁓ things that weren't really so interesting to me. you know. thinking about how the site is being ran, ⁓ policies and procedures and things like this, ⁓ and not so much focused on scientific strategy per se. and so that's kind of where I I said I think my talents could be better used elsewhere. Kristen Sweeney: Yeah, that's fascinating. And it it is true, right? Like the further we kind of move up in a sort of traditional corporate structure, the farther we get from the work that sort of brought us there in the first place. Yeah, yeah. so you talked a little bit about realizing that you had an interest in scientific communications and that it sounds like it was really rewarding for you. Laura Lampa: Totally. Kristen Sweeney: How and why did you decide to transition that into communications being the the primary with communicating science, if you will, kind of flipping the the emphasis there. Laura Lampa: Okay. I guess talk about how I got involved in the first place. I I paired up with our one of our corporate comms, our site communicator, pretty early on, and I was just very curious what she did. And she wasn't in science communication, she just did corp comms. And and then as we started to talk and build a relationship, she started to ask, you know, would you want to come with me to this trade show or would you be interested in speaking at Kristen Sweeney: Yeah. Laura Lampa: you know, X, Y, and Z to this particular group, and I'd always say, sure, why not? And I started to realize that that was very rewarding to go out and speak to these different groups and share the work that we were doing. At that time we were, you know, we were bear at that time, Bayer Crop Science. ⁓ it was really rewarding to go out and share the work that we were doing and to to help people understand that some of the things that they've learned about the ag tech industry are really myth, right? And that here's what we're actually doing, here's why we're doing it, and here's why it's good for, you know, ag here's why it's good for people. Here's why it's good for the environment. And to see that light bulb go off over people's eyes, you know, heads is just to me ⁓ felt really gratifying. And then, you know, then in a natural kind of progression into that was ⁓ when we did get Acquired by Bayer Crop Science from AgriQuest. You know, at that time we were positioned as the global headquarters of biologics. So biologics, let me go back and explain. We were we were a group that was making crop protection out of microbes instead of chemistry. So our little group in Davis, California, was considered the headquarters of biologics for Bayer at that time, back in was that, 2012. what that meant was a lot of people were very curious about us. So we were getting something like 3,000 visitors a year. You know, we were not only just from our internal folks, but we were doing friends and family days, we were doing media days, we were inviting legislator in. So and there were about three of us who were very committed to giving tours and comfortable talking to all sorts of different groups. ⁓ but it was pretty untenable for us to continue giving all those tours and doing our day job. Kristen Sweeney: And do your jobs. Yeah. Laura Lampa: And we were constantly trying to get other scient, you know, volunteer scientists. And they were always like very enthusiastic. Sure, we'll help, we'll do it. But when they would hear, like, ⁓ well, it's the VP of this, or ⁓ our CEO's coming, or ⁓ it's, you know, this legislator, they would say, Mm, we're not really, you know, we're not comfortable. And so we started to realize we needed to build a curriculum and teach people how to, you know, flex their skill set and be able to communicate with different types of groups. so that was another, you know way that I you know got my foot in the door even more of hey okay what is that curriculum that we have to build? What are those personas that we need to to build for people to understand, hey, when you get this type of visitor, here are the words that you use, here's, you know, the kind of the angle that you talk about the science from, here are the kind of the analogies or ex you know, examples that you could use to relate to different audiences. so all of those things together kind of got me, you know, even more and more interested in science communication. And then, you know, I started to think more as I started to kind of go down that path and work more with our division head, our business unit head, ⁓ you know, he really kind of elevated my thinking around, you know, what does it mean to be a strategic communicator ⁓ externally and then you know even within the business to our different business units. Kristen Sweeney: Love that. So Laura, I I love how you kind of integrated yourself over time. And it sounds like you really ⁓ you you kind of did make it your day job before it was your day job, right? Communications and played a larger and larger role, really driven by it sounds like a lot of curiosity. ⁓ tell me about switching industries. ⁓ it, you know, from our previous conversations, I think perhaps from a very outsider's point of view, Laura Lampa: Yeah. Kristen Sweeney: Maybe AgTech to Pharma wouldn't seem like a massive leap, but it seems like for you it felt, you know, after really being entrenched in AgTec like a like a big transition. So why did you make that decision and and what was that experience of kind of coming into a brand new industry? Laura Lampa: You know, I didn't make that decision to transition lightly, but I'll tell you, when I was a part of Ginkgo BioWorks and we were going through our layoffs, and I was one of the people who got laid off very early on in that process, my my desire actually was to stay in AgTec. I was, you know, looking at jobs and thinking like where can I go? and it came, it just so happened that coincided with a very rough time for ag and you know in fact people in the industry were describing it as the nuclear winter. Everyone was doing layoffs, right? I mean even all of the bigger companies were going through their their rough patch and their, you know, downscaling teams. And so I took the you know tough look and said, do I want to be one of those people who, you know, hey, they're posting on LinkedIn, still looking for a job, a year out, year and a half. Two years, and yeah, I didn't want that to be me, so I you know had to really broaden my net and think what else, where else can my skills be transferable? Not only that, but where else could I have a passion? And that happened to be pharma. So that's how I made the decision to transition. Now, how was that experience for me? It wasn't easy to be honest. you know, spending close to twenty years of your life in one industry and feeling very passionate about it and then switching into a different industry where, you know, there are some parallels that you can draw in terms of, you know, how the research is conducted and things like this. But it it is so different. Pharma's much more complex, I think, than ag in general. I there's there's a piece of ag where I think like, ⁓ my God, they're so creative and they think outside the box because they have to, you know, a lot of the technology and and things that they adapt from pharma. ⁓ But pharma is so complex, you know, so regulated. And so having to go in and learn this new industry and and just change and shift the way that I think and do things was was pretty difficult. Because not only did I transition from being a scientist into a communicator, but a communicator with an ag now into pharma. Kristen Sweeney: Yeah. Laura Lampa: And I remember there was probably like three or four months into it. I had a breakdown moment where I thought, ⁓ my God, did I make a mistake? Like there's just so much to get to know. ⁓ but about six months into it, I I I felt much more calm. It's like, okay, I got this, you know, but it took me, you know, that amount of time to really wrap my my arms around this industry and I'm still learning, you know, it's I'm not done yet, but Kristen Sweeney: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You really like ripped the band aid off when it came to transitions, right? You were like, just do ⁓ all. Maybe you could move across the country at the same time while you're at it. Yeah. Laura Lampa: Yeah, it wasn't an easy transition. But that Yeah. Yeah, but that I mean, but that's how I made but that's how I made the decision. It was just, you know, it was being really pragmatic and realistic about what what you know what my career options were, what the industry was like at the time. Kristen Sweeney: Yeah. Absolutely. and I think like when I think about everything from my own career choices to even like small decisions that we make for our clients, I think or with our clients, there's there's the ideal and then I always say it's like it's so important to consider the the reality and the factors and the like How can this be possible? And if that means we have to shift what shift away a little bit from the ideal, we are much better off than just holding the ideal but never actually like making forward progress toward it. Yeah. when I first started working with pharma, ⁓ Laura Lampa: Yes. Yeah, yeah. Kristen Sweeney: A client of ours who's also a good friend of mine. I just remember, you know, I was certainly doing my research along the way, but she very early on was like, here's the Wikipedia article, the Wikipedia page on clinical trials. This is gonna give you a great overview. And I was like, All right, if she recommends it, it must be, you know, accurate enough. But yeah, there is, there's, there's so much to learn. one of the things that Laura Lampa: Mm-hmm. Must be great. Kristen Sweeney: You know, you referenced it related to AgTech and certainly pharma is, you know, one thing they have in common is some, I would say sometimes like some reputational challenges or maybe misconceptions in the industry or what intentions are. you mentioned kind of being able to give people new information that sort of change their mind or help them understand the, you know, the goals behind certain actions. What have you found is Does that effectively? Like how do you effectively give people new information or help them change their mind or see kind of a different point of view in communication? Laura Lampa: It certainly doesn't happen with a one and done communication, right? I think there's a couple of things that you have to do in order to be effective. I think number one is have some empathy and understanding of where people are in their journey and their understanding. I think that's first and foremost. And then I think secondly is building that relation over time, right? Don't think that just because you said something once that it's even if they're receptive to the information in the moment. That they're gonna walk away and be like, ⁓ my gosh, you know, I was wrong all these years. Like now I understand everything. You know, be be willing to go back and have those conversations and be patient with people because you know they're getting that information. I've learned these things ⁓ throughout the course of my education and my career over time. You know, it took me over twenty years to acquire this knowledge base, but maybe they're just hearing it for the very first time. Kristen Sweeney: Yeah. Laura Lampa: And so realizing where people are in their journey and meeting them where they are is incredibly, you know, essential to being able to help you know, shift perceptions and change minds. Kristen Sweeney: Yeah, I like that idea of not thinking of it as a one and done, right? Because can you imagine that conversation? Like you go and I don't know, some some belief. ⁓ you know, I heard such and such. ⁓ really? Well, where'd you hear that? Well, the company that makes the product. I mean, you know, it may be true, but at the same time, like you could kind of see where the need for r reinforcement something I think too can be really important is not Laura Lampa: Yeah. Kristen Sweeney: And I this is where I think like regulation actually is very useful, is like, ⁓ I mean it's very useful in many ways, but in this particular avenue is like not sort of like over promising or over exaggerating, like being very r restricted and sort of not quite modest, but very, very mindful of not making, you know. any kind of claim that is overblown in even in the slightest way, because I think that can really lose lose trust ⁓ with an audience, especially one that's kind of already got a different idea or perception. You want a an unassailable sort of message and and claims. Laura Lampa: Yes, and I think also being very honest too. You know, people are always going to bring up those, well, what about this instance? What about that occurrence? Absolutely. Has the industry over time made on both sides, you know, whatever industry it is, whether it's food, ag, pharma, have mistakes been made sometimes? Absolutely. Right? But you know, it's never an intention to put something out that's harmful, right? We we do have a lot of procedures and safety testing and things like that that we that we do and a lot of these companies, you know, I can speak to Bayer especially, right? When I was working there, there are a lot of things that the EPA don't require that they go above and beyond just because they want to make sure that they're putting out a very safe product. So and a lot of people don't know those things. You know, just so just sharing some of that context too is I think is really helpful and can go along with it Kristen Sweeney: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. ⁓ Ask you so I want to hear just a little bit about your role with site-specific communications and specifically in the context of internal comms, I I'm curious what you see working right now best in terms of employee engagement. And you know, feel free to kind of generalize as needed, but what kinds of efforts you see are being most effective in in reaching team members. Laura Lampa: I think, you know, people still really love hearing from their manager, right? That's who their relationship is with. That's who they've built trust with over time. And so, and that's still one of the big trends, manager comms, but how do you do it well? Managers, you know, people leaders aren't communicators. In their minds, they're like, well, we have a communications team, you know, you send it. ⁓ so how do you provide them with the tools and you know, arm them with what they need in order to be effective communicators and themselves? Kristen Sweeney: Ha ha ha. Laura Lampa: ⁓ you know, being able to set up those tools and templates for them, you know, giving them the copy and, you know, being very specific, I just need you to fill in your your pieces in this line, this line and that line, so that they're able to do it effectively and quickly and it doesn't take away from their primary role. I think that's something that's very effective in terms of employing internal comms. Kristen Sweeney: Is that in terms of when you talk about managers like they're direct managers, like you're trying to get as close to people as possible, or you kind of aiming it at a certain level of leadership? Laura Lampa: You know, it's important people want to hear from leadership at all levels, but I think their direct manager is, you know, the most important relationship. I even think about me, right? Like I wanna hear from my direct manager. So I think it Kristen Sweeney: They better get on that. Laura Lampa: Yeah, it's it's it's great. Yeah, we need to know, you know, what the CEO is thinking or the CSO or whomever. ⁓ you know, those are very helpful. but they're far you know, I'm far removed from from that person. And so to hear that same message coming and contextualized from my direct manager ⁓ is much more meaningful. Kristen Sweeney: Yeah, I love that. ⁓ one other question I want to ask you when we think about kind of maybe trends, maybe not, but I do think this is something we're seeing more broadly is ⁓ you consult and manage your full time role. So tell me what tell me w why you're bonkers and want to do that. No. tell me what motivates you to Laura Lampa: Ha ha ha Kristen Sweeney: Kind of keep your hand in consulting and and what that you know, what what that does for you professionally. Laura Lampa: So I only consult for the ag tech industry, right? Like I I don't touch anything that is remotely connected to pharma or healthcare. ⁓ but for me, you know, why I do that is there's a couple of reasons. You know, it it feels it fuels my passion to be still be part of ag, but also I feel like it it enables me to have an impact. Kristen Sweeney: Mm-hmm. Laura Lampa: I can bring any of those skills back that I use or learn in my consulting back to my full time job at Ab V. You know, there's definitely this freedom and flexibility that I have to use different technologies or pursue, you know, like hot tools that are out that don't have to go through the vetting process that you go through at a large organization. So there's this ability to stay agile. But, you know, I guess for me too, Kristen Sweeney: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Sure, yeah. Laura Lampa: It's also an an opportunity for my work to become a catalyst for other people's success. You know, it's it's it's an opportunity for me to amplify my impact. Kristen Sweeney: That's a perfect segue for us. Yeah. And a perfect segue into our one big idea. Because you use that word catalyst. So the the one big idea we talked about, which is a you know one insight or experience that's had a meaningful impact on how you communicate, is this concept that success doesn't mean being in the spotlight. So can you tell us a little bit about the the sort of genesis of this idea? Laura Lampa: Across across industry. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm. Mm. Yeah, I mean it certainly when you're a communicator, right, it's it's not my name that's on the work. It's going out on behalf of a leader or, you know, an organization or some other author who's holding the byline. But being able to play a meaningful role in the success of others, I think it's always been something that makes me feel good. And so being able to help clarify messages for others, help take somebody's science and help them explain it better so that they can, you know, connect better with various audiences, ⁓ helping to connect the dots of people's work with organizational goals, for example. I think this is, you know, for me what drives me. and so, yeah, I this idea of, you know, being a catalyst for other people's success equals my success as well and and fulfills me. Kristen Sweeney: Yeah, I love that. I I this is just happened to me yesterday. So I'm gonna share a quick story. ⁓ it's about LinkedIn. So I recorded a podcast ⁓ with a guest, much like this. That podcast went live. Somebody listened to that podcast and apparently it was deeply, deeply like transformational for her. Laura Lampa: Okay. Yeah. Kristen Sweeney: She posted about it on LinkedIn. She tagged my guest and shared the podcast. My guest tagged me and said, This was our podcast. You were the host. And I shared it. For much the same reason, which is that you know, we partner with executives and experts to develop and build content programs and help them share their best ideas with the world. And we like What I love about catalyst is that that's more than being sort of an empty vessel that's like, dump all your ideas here and we just write the words and make them look pretty. Right? It's conversation, it's ⁓ facilitation, it's holding a container. So just like, and I'm gonna keep the science real basic here, but like an enzyme or a catalyst like is part of Laura Lampa: Yeah. Kristen Sweeney: It's not just a pass-through, right? It like fundamentally changes things to create something new. ⁓ and so I just really relate to this that at the end of the day, it was Steve's words that that moved the person who posted. but I was able to hold the space and have the podcast that allowed for that conversation to happen and so on and so on and so on. It like set off a chain reaction of events. ⁓ so I love this idea. Now When you know, you were sharing a little bit about kind of tours and maybe speaking. So it sounds like there was a point in your career where maybe you were a little bit more maybe f front and center or in the spotlight to some extent. were you comfortable in that in that space too? Do you miss that aspect of kind of being out in front of the crowd or Laura Lampa: Yeah. I it's funny. I I don't know that I miss it, but I wouldn't shy away from the opportunity. I love doing public speaking, which is you know, most people don't. Kristen Sweeney: I mean hence here we are together, right? Laura Lampa: Give me a polished presentation in a stage and like I'm there. ⁓ I don't miss it so much. ⁓ like I said, I wouldn't shy away from it if it if the opportunity presented itself. ⁓ I think it's you know, there's another to to kind of go back to that conversation, that previous question, like why do I do it? I think there's also this challenge when you write for others of Kristen Sweeney: Nice, nice. Laura Lampa: You know, you sit down and you interview them or you get to know them over time and so you know how they talk and stuff like that. There's also this challenge of, okay, how do I make the writing sound like them? You know, because at the end of the day, they're the ones who are are publishing it, publishing it. And then they're the ones who have the relationship with the readers. So, you know, I don't know, like that's to me, and when somebody comes back to me and says, like, this is spot on. You know, like this sounds like something I would have written or something like that. Like, ugh, you know, yes, it is the best feeling. It's not that, ⁓ this was just well written, but like this was written as if I wrote it and and even better than I could have done. Like that is just the best feedback. Kristen Sweeney: ⁓ the best feeling, isn't it? It Yeah, that's that's one of the best compliments I think that we can get too is like it sounds like me only better. Laura Lampa: Okay. Yeah. So even better than being on the stage and taking the spotlight. I don't know, some for some reason that just warms me. Kristen Sweeney: And I think it Yeah. It it's it can be challenging too though because I think sometimes, you know, we're working with folks who don't have a defined voice, especially a written voice. Sometimes the spoken voice and the how they want their written voice to seem are very, very different. And I know that can be quite challenging. So, you know, when we're getting to know a client, there have definitely been situations where we're trying to Laura Lampa: Mm-hmm. Kristen Sweeney: preserve their language where possible, but connect their ideas. And obviously we're there's a lot of additional work that goes into it. And it turns out they were really letting their guard down in conversation with us, but they're like, ⁓ no, we can't. I don't wanna be seen that way. I just wanted to talk to you like that. Which I love and we can work with, but sometimes it takes a while for us to calibrate together and collaborate and say, like, ⁓ okay, we are just telling it like it is here. You don't want to tell it like it is there, or you do with a little bit of polish on, you know, and and kind of like ⁓ understand where we're gonna end up. ⁓ I'm always grateful when they tell it like it is though. Like I I consider that a huge benefit if, you know. Laura Lampa: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Kristen Sweeney: kind of letting down their guard ⁓ during our conversations, but understanding where it where it needs to calibrate in terms of their voice at the end is is a a journey for sure. Laura Lampa: Yeah, for sure. Kristen Sweeney: Tell me about, you know, we've all had ⁓ I think as communicators situations where that final communication went through four more rounds of edits than we were hoping. ⁓ the messaging feels diluted. how do you how do you kind of hold steady when the the end product isn't as maybe fulfilling as you would like it to be. Like what kind of keeps you going rather than becoming like disillusioned? Laura Lampa: I mean, I think very I've been in those situations where yes, you have like fifteen reviewers and at the end of the day you're just like, okay, this is this has turned into a Frankenstein. so learning from that experience in the past, now I am very good at a limiting the number of reviewers, and then Kristen Sweeney: Yes. Laura Lampa: if it has to expand, being very explicit about what I want each reviewer to focus on. I don't want you to focus on changing the message. Maybe I just want you to focus on does it make sense from your group or has it represented your group, your function, whatever, adequately, right? Like I don't need you to go through the whole document. ⁓ so I think there that there's that, you know, setting the boundary. but Kristen Sweeney: Mm-hmm. Laura Lampa: you know, also being able to pull people back when it does get too far off point and saying, you know, listen, here's the way that y if you're working for a company, for example, right, like within Ab V, within Bay or whatever, saying, you know, bringing them back to here's our guideline, here's our voice that we speak with, you know, this is getting a little bit off. And so it's not necessarily a knock to them or their input, but it's just, you know, trying to realign everybody and say this is you know, it has to sound like this because right. So and you know, those are some strategies to help keep keep it contained and and on point. Kristen Sweeney: Mm, mm-hmm. Yeah. Alignment is an ongoing process, not a not a one time thing for sure. Yeah. let's see. Is there a moment I know you mentioned someone saying like, ⁓ kind of like this sounds like better than I could have written myself? Is there a moment that that stands out for you ⁓ where you really felt like the catalyst and you kind of really felt that impact that you're able to make? Laura Lampa: Yeah. Definitely. I've I have this one client and actually he's in a completely different industry. He's in, you know, like government and procurement and so something that I just don't know anything about or didn't know about when he when he first engaged me. But he said, I really like your writing because at first I turned him down. I said, I don't that's not my thing. I don't do that. I don't know anything about that industry, I don't write about that. And he said, But I like the way you write. And so you know, we'll build a relationship, mu you know, I said, okay. ⁓ and some of the most fulfilling work I've done has been, you know, with with him as my client, going from I don't know anything about procurement and you're and you know, government, you know, agencies and things like this, to now, you know, he's been on a podcast, he had, you know, one of the articles that I'd ghostwritten for him published in a you know, a a newsletter, an industry newsletter, ⁓ you know, just just hearing his feedback saying like, ⁓ my gosh, this is amazing, right? Like building his LinkedIn for him. that has definitely been a big highlight of my consulting career. Kristen Sweeney: Yeah. Yeah. One of our company's core values is hungry to learn. And ⁓ I don't know, sometimes I feel like it's it's frowned upon to say, I wanna learn something new because it's fulfilling and don't I get to do that because it's my my one career and my one life, honestly. Laura Lampa: ⁓ Kristen Sweeney: But it is true. And I love, love learning new industries. And then when you start to be able to understand that new space well enough to make connections from what you already know, to me, that's like a really fun moment where you're like, ⁓ these people have a very similar problem to those people. And I know a lot about that. And the problems are different, but like also kind of not, you know. And I get it now. I get how they come together. So Yeah, I think that's it's really cool and it sounds like curiosity's been a theme of your of your career and and continues to this day. Laura Lampa: Curiosity has been a theme of my life. Here's a fun little story, if I can just take a minute to tell you. When I was in third grade, take you way back, I had a student teacher, and she I was so sad when the school year ended, because obviously she wasn't going to be the teacher there anymore. ⁓ and she said, But you know what? I'm teaching a summer camp. You could come to that. Kristen Sweeney: Yeah. Laura Lampa: And so my mom enrolled me, I went, and I remember when the summer camp ended again, I felt kind of sad. And she just said to me, she said, and I think this is really kind of what sparked my interest in becoming a scientist, because I didn't even know what a scientist was when I was in third grade, but I remember her saying to me, I hope you always stay very curious. She's like, one day you're gonna make a very good scientist. And that just stuck with me my whole life. I think I wanted to become a scientist because of her. Kristen Sweeney: I just got chills honestly. that's really cool. That's a really beautiful story. It's could be something so simple and you know, just goes to show like that idea of impact. Does that person have any idea, you know, what she kind of set in motion? Yeah. Laura Lampa: Mm. ⁓ she has no idea, but if she's still out there, her name was Ms. Legier. Kristen Sweeney: I love it. Laura, before I let you go, I want to make sure we have time to hit our lightning round segment. ⁓ this is the last word where every guest gets the same five questions and you just go with your gut on these answers. Are you ready? Laura Lampa: Okay, I'm ready. Okay. Kristen Sweeney: All right, don't be scared. Question one. What's your favorite word to say out loud? Laura Lampa: Bamboozle. Kristen Sweeney: Good pick. No no notes. Question two. What's a word you know from reading? But you're not quite sure how to pronounce it. Laura Lampa: Well, I know how to pronounce it now, but I remember erascible. Erascible, 'cause I'm like it looks like erascible. Kristen Sweeney: It does, and isn't it a little bit like a like rascal y like that's always what I think about is like rascal. So I could I'm I'm not sure I knew how to pronounce that. That's definitely in the category of words I've read, but don't say. Question three. What's one phrase or saying you wish could be retired for good? Laura Lampa: Raffable. That's a funny word. ⁓ I know this one. ⁓ it is what it is. I hate that phrase with a passion. Kristen Sweeney: I am really resisting the urge to call my husband in here. He's working from home today because he just said to me, it is what it is, is the worst phrase. How have like 90% of your guests not said it? ⁓ so I'm gonna tell him that today is the day. ⁓ Question four. Finally, it happened. What's a communication practice or principle that's non-negotiable for you? Laura Lampa: Ha ha. One finally said it. I think the principle is clarity is measured by the audience, not by the speaker. People think that just because they said it clearly, that the audience understands. It's not always the case. Kristen Sweeney: Ooh, that's a good one. Question five. What's the last thing you read, heard, or watched that really stuck with you? Laura Lampa: Mm-hmm. this would have been Scott Galloway. I think I was listening, I don't know whose podcast he was on, but I remember he said, you can have it all, you just can't have it all at once. Kristen Sweeney: Amen. Laura Lampa: That always stuck with me. He was talking about work life balance actually. Yeah, he was talking about work life balance but but I mean it's true. You can't have it all. You just can't have it all at once. So you have to you have to be judicious judicious with your time and be realistic with your expectations of, you know, where you wanna put your focus and attention. Kristen Sweeney: season seasons of life more than like hit it all as hard as you can all the time. Yeah. I love that. That's a good one to leave us on. Laura, thank you so much for joining us today. If our listeners want to learn more about you, where can they find you? Laura Lampa: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Well they can find me on LinkedIn. ⁓ And yeah, I have a website. lmlstoryllab.com is my consulting. reach me at either of those places. Kristen Sweeney: Perfect, and we'll include those links in the show notes. Thank you so much, Laura, for a great conversation and for being here. Laura Lampa: Thank you so much, Kristen. It was such a pleasure to speak with you today. It was very fun. Kristen Sweeney: Appreciate it. Likewise.