This year the Women in Communications association celebrates 100 years! I’ll be keynoting the conference today in my hometown of Seattle.

One bit of information I’ll be sharing (in the spirit of storytelling) is that my parents first new I was going to do something with communications when I would purposely get lost in grocery stores so I could say my name on the loud speaker to find my parents.

How did you first know you were interested in communications?

I call his preferred his brand of no-budget, video filmmaking “twig and mirror.”

On his recommendation a while ago, I went to see a screening at the Brook Theater in Brooklyn of “Flooding with Love for the Kid,” billed as a “one-man cinematic war” by Zachary Oberzan (http://zacharyoberzan.com) “Flooding” is his faithful adaption of David Morrell’s “First Blood.” Oberzan plays all the characters, using only his 220-square-foot apartment for props and location and a total budget of $96.

One of the great pleasures of watching the film is watching the bars on Oberzan’s bedroom window transform into prison bars, or a deconstructed house plant turn into the backwoods of Kentucky where Rambo eludes the local police.

Oberzan may not have a multimillion budget to play with, but the point is, he doesn’t need one. I found myself unexpectedly moved by his depiction of Rambo’s tortured struggle with his Vietnam War past. That’s because Oberzan respects the material, and he’s a virtuoso at storytelling. It’s also why when he talks into a toaster plug, you believe he’s communicating through a cop’s CB radio.

Nonprofit organizations have the same tools on their side: ingenuity born of necessity, passion, and access to deeply felt, authentic stories of real-life people who can bring an issue to life — and cut through the spin.

That’s why corporations rightly fear activist organizations for the damage they can do to their brands – even more so now with the rise of new media. They may have the big bucks. But we have the twig, the mirror, and the stories on our side.

The trailer for “Flooding With Love for the Kid”:

(Please be warned that this trailer includes strong language and some nudity)
watch?v=91UDGqgrsrs