Starting her journey in a small town in Indiana with a passion for storytelling, Gina forged a successful career in journalism that spanned major news organisations like CNN and impactful international volunteer-led work. Her deep understanding of narrative and communication eventually led her to found Language of Leadership, where she combines her media expertise with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Today, Gina helps business leaders craft authentic, compelling stories that resonate with their audiences and drive meaningful change.

1. Let’s start at the beginning. What inspired you towards a career in journalism and where did that career take you? 

I grew up in a tiny town in Indiana. I loved the newspaper and TV news and had a huge interest in the stories and the place the stories were, no matter if they were tragic. So as a little girl I thought that journalism was my ticket out. I majored in journalism and political science at Indiana State University. I went to do an internship in a newspaper. I started moving up the career path chain and eventually I moved over to CNN. At this stage of my career I felt that I knew how to understand, tell and craft stories. I did some international stories, and got to see how stories are told elsewhere. But journalism was my background and my grounding and how to tell that story succinctly – for me it was my foundation. From CNN I ended up moving to an NGO where I got to work in Romania as a volunteer trainer. I thought that if I didn’t do it, I’d regret that I didn’t try, but it was an incredible experience for me.

2. What inspired you to transition from that successful career in journalism to founding Language of Leadership and how does your media background influence your approach to communications coaching?

My contract wasn’t renewed with CNN so I needed a new road. I was hired from a government affairs company and they gave me actual vacation time! I ended up going on vacation with a friend of mine. He was an elected official and was travelling with government affairs and civil groups and telling their story. He encouraged me to join that company. So I pivoted to there to help others with their stories. I got to go to  Egypt, Cambodia, Philippines etc. All of these incredible countries had a common purpose in that all of the people they were working with were trying to make the world a better place for their families or communities. 

I started applying this to the corporate world and executives creafting their own story, crafting their own story for different audiences. I then moved to SAP where I was hired  through a media company and worked in Italy. When my contract ended in 2015 I was living in Italy and I had a daughter. I had to decide where to live because my Italian was only ok. I wanted to stay in Europe so I narrowed it down to the UK or Ireland. I ended up choosing Ireland and thank God I did, because a year later Brexit happened. I chose Ireland and loved it. After originally saying I would only stay a short while I didn’t want to leave. I found out about the STEP start up enterprises programme and after completing that I started the company in 2018. It’s now 7 years later and last month I got my Irish citizenship. My daughter is in a school learning Irish and I love it here.

The business is now going great. I’ve had clients from all around Ireland, UK, Europe, USA and recently got a call from Kuwait and Doha. I’m even going back to Indiana in August working with an NGO there. From a little girl from Indiana I now have friends all over the world, I’ve been to 60 countries and the impact I’ve seen has been incredible. I had a client in Croatia that works in Pharma that said “Gina I’ve always been able to present but with you I enjoy it”. 

3. What are the most common communication challenges you see business leaders facing today, and what practical steps do you recommend to overcome them?

• Lack of awareness about communication and connection. The presenter tends to focus more on information and not the content or connection with the audience. How they are connected with the material: Your material is not the presentation, you are. Have you thought about the audience’s hopes or expectations, what do they want to hear from you and how can you convey that?
• What tools are you using to present your word-choice, slide content, leading with energy? Starting the presentation with the history of the topic is boring, it’s not the exciting aspirational piece. It’s important not to be gimmicky but to think about it and make choices. Be flexible in the way you structure your slides too. It’s not like using AI or ChatGPT, but how you really bring yourself and bring your own personality to it. 
• You can always improve your presentation. Most people think the current version of themselves is ok. If you unpack your presentation style, how can you improve that? If you take it apart can you replace some of the parts so that when you put it together again does it improve your presentation style? If you can take more control then the audience will feel the value and that changes the dynamic for communications

4. On social media you often speak about how authenticity is so important in leadership communication. How can executives use their authenticity to cultivate it effectively? Do you have any examples from your clients?

Authenticity, it’s a buzzword of all buzzwords at the moment. Being authentic is first you need to identify your values and live them, then be conscious in your word choice. It’s things like vocal energy, body language etc. My definition of authenticity is “the degree to which the person can constantly connect consciously and purposefully to add value”. It doesn’t equate to just saying that you’re being authentic and not living it. Leaders need to unpack and raise awareness and repack those elements. Awareness, desire and daily worker discipline are the keys to being authentic.

5. What advice would you give to business owners who want to build a strong social media presence but feel overwhelmed by the different platforms available?

Find out where your customers are communicating. I have to be on all of them really, but I’m really only active on Insta, Linkedin and Youtube. For me it creates credibility and I have a team that posts for me. For someone else, be where your clients are and adapt your communication to that platform. My advice would be to try, start, it’s never going to be perfect and you’re not going to go viral on day 1. Build a body of work, look at analytics and be kind to yourself. Everyone is doom scrolling, they need something in the feed that’s fun or informative. Get little bits out there and eventually you’ll find your feet and build your niche.

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6. Could you share some key differences in building an engaged audience on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, and how business owners can use  leverage on each platform strategically?

Know your audience and brand. Once you start posting, follow and engage with others, as I mentioned earlier, be authentic. If it feels like a robo-chat or that you are constantly posting the same information that won’t work. You’ll be broadcasting, not engaging. If you engage with others and grow and expand, your impact will increase accordingly. Don’t be afraid to explore and try something new. When I started I didn’t do handheld pieces on my phone, I  thought it wasn’t professional. Now I do it all the time. I never had someone say that’s unprofessional, it makes it look like I’m a real person and that makes it feel more human.

My team looks at my analytics and sees what works and not. It’s great because all small business owners can tell me what works and what doesn’t.

7. How can small businesses or startups use storytelling to create a memorable brand presence on social media?

I think for small businesses it’s really important to have a personal element or be really creative to get something that breaks through the noise. For example the Astrominor video following the controversy from their ex-CEO at the Coldplay concert. The company hired Gwenth Paltrow and explained what they can do and their upcoming events that their customers can get tickets to. It was brilliant. That casting was brilliant (Paltrow being Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin’s ex-wife) and it hit on every level. It was short and cut through the noise.

You don’t have to be that creative but be creative, it’s good to be quirky and explore what works. Have fun, and enjoy it

8. How do you measure the success of a social media strategy beyond follower counts, and what metrics should business owners focus on?

For me LinkedIn is my primary tool. When I post I’m looking for connections to meet for a virtual coffee –  that’s my main matrix. I can then put them into my Hubspot CRM tool, But all the social media I do is about nurturing relationships has to be focused on that relationship and if that person doesn’t connect with you you’ll never demonstrate how impactful you can be

9. As someone who coaches leaders globally, what emerging trends in digital communication do you believe business owners should prepare for in the next 3-5 years?

AI is dominating everything. They’re peeling off from HR and people and going to AI, and that is worrying. It also means at no time has it been more important for leaders to human up, but they’re moving toward AI. AI is limiting your voice. We’re becoming too dependent on AI, but we can’t talk about ourselves through AI. That’s our voice and the voice of our team members, if you don’t do that then it’s not going to serve us. 

10. Are there any other people, companies or founders involved in DEI currently that you are a big fan of?

Pat Kenny, as a communicator, life-long learner and interviewer is outstanding. He is  interested in others and he genuinely is kind and gracious to new employees or guests on his show and that shows in his research. That’s the tool kit that every communicator should look to.

For sure my most treasured interview in the DEI space is Barry Stevenson, the director of the equal justice initiative in the United States.