Corie’s take on:
Learning before teaching.
Corie approaches communication through a learning lens. Before she writes anything, for example, she makes sure all her questions about the content have been answered and she knows the context around the story she needs to tell.
“I try always to learn first,” she says. “I think any teacher worth their salt is dedicated to being curious and learning everything they can learn.”
That includes learning about the lived experiences of the people she’s writing for. Personal narratives can be as valid and effective as facts and figures — sometimes more so — as a way to ground stories.
The importance of soft skills.
Some job skills never go out of style. Collaboration, adaptability, conflict resolution, creativity — those are among the “soft skills” that Corie helped young people build when she worked for a student leadership organization.
“These soft skills are in demand. And as hard skills change and evolve, soft skills never really do,” Corie says.
Anyone can, and should, learn soft skills, she says. Tools like deep listening and conflict management make it possible for adults, as well, to work across ideological lines to find solutions to problems.
“There’s this idea that those skills are innate — they’re not,” Corie says. “They can be developed and built.”
Doing hard things once.
Corie likes the idea of a growth mindset, which loves a challenge and sees failure as a chance to get better.
Corie says:
All growth happens outside of your comfort zone. You have to do the hard thing one time. When you realize that nothing bad happens, you are more confident to do it again, and your comfort zone expands.
Education
Master’s degree in teaching, University of California, Irvine
Bachelor’s degrees in English and psychology and social behavior, University of California, Irvine