By Rowan Wilson
Rowan Wilson is part of the RPL team. Through her interviews with clients, she helps uncover the stories behind organizations and the people who bring their work to life. Here, she reflects on what those conversations make possible.
As we move further into the incorporation of AI in the workplace, we are asking less often what AI can do and instead starting to wonder what happens to the human connections behind our work. AI can help us write, design websites, organize calendars, and even respond to emails. All of this makes a good conversation feel more important than ever.
Making Room for the Story
When I interview a client, I’m trying to get information, content, and answers. There’s something deeper that happens, though, and it often leaves me feeling inspired, humbled, and with a more holistic understanding of the organizations we’re working with and the people behind them. It’s real human connection. A good interview will make someone feel heard, and it will allow their story to shine through. Sometimes it also helps them recognize something about their own story as they tell it. Because at the heart of all our work, there are stories. These human-centered stories are essential for any mission-driven organization.
Following the Threads
I do not conduct interviews as a list of fixed questions. I listen and adjust my questions, then pull on threads that stand out and pique my interest. These threads sometimes lead to gold. And sometimes it takes an outside perspective for a client to recognize the parts of their stories that really strike a chord. This is where an interview becomes dialogue. We’re discovering something together, and the conversation can take us somewhere neither of us expected.
The Connections Behind Our Work
In the age of AI, making room for human connection matters. My interview style is friendly and casual, and it allows me to get a raw, honest transcript. These interviews are fun! A good listener will invite the story in and make their interviewee comfortable enough to share it.
I want to make the case for dialogue. I want organizations to understand how powerful a good conversation can be and how far what emerges can go in defining their brand and identity. Because in the end, we’re humans working with humans, and we use AI tools to help us. The connections we build make our work possible—and give us a reason to do it in the first place.
Making Space for What Comes Next
RPL’s approach to narrative strategy draws on Spaciology, a framework that explores how the spaces we create shape our understanding, relationships, and possibilities. In our work, dialogue helps people examine their experiences, find shared meaning, and turn that understanding into clearer decisions and communications.
Bring us the question you are working through. We will start with a conversation. You can also explore Spaciology’s teachings and practices at UYM Charities.
