http://www.erintrafford.com/free-scorecard, http://www.erintrafford.com/coaching, http://www.erintrafford.com/blog

It's Erin Trafford, Halifax, NS (2026)

02/24/2026

I’ve been quiet on socials lately because - it’s honestly been a month of processing big things.

It feels like the world is at an inflection point and either by design, accident or kismet, my work leading Story Studio Network and my consulting work at Erin Trafford | Story & Strategy feels like it’s also stepping into a new arena.

We are working on a handful of brand new shows on the network - and I can tell you that since being in this biz as an OG… there’s a tone shift, a new sense of courage and a collective belief that ‘if we don’t talk about this [insert reality] now, we will all meet our Maker not having fully lived in honest community…’

I leapt into my career in 2006 as a plucky journo ‘wanting to tell stories that matter’ and here I am, 20 years into what can only be described as a storied career and I feel the inflection point of perhaps maybe, finally having arrived.

The shows we are working on?
Tackle HUGE deep wending realities of

❤️‍🩹 Grief … what is it to lose someone unexpectedly? Where do they GO? Who do we become when grief is the blanket of our life? Why do we still believe grief is a one size fits all and a ‘who wears it best’ competition?

💟Belonging and faith… what is it to be a young Canadian born into an identity you did not choose but that comes with decades of geopolitical, religious and global ‘opinions’ about what makes you both right and wrong, belong and all at once be unqiue and different?

🌎Saving our gifts … what is it to be a person of science who sees a path forward for our planet but who knows the only way to achieve that ‘saving’ is thru ancient knowledge and wisdom and future focused nation building?

My word - I love these questions. I love that after 20 years I work with clients and team members that want this kind of big thinking storytelling.

Sure - we make cool podcasts.

But mostly- I see that we ask big questions that lead to incredible stories.

Got a big story?
Happy to hear all about it

E

📸 cred my husband Dan on a sunset beach walk with my two looney spoon kiddos who don’t care about wet boots from tide pools in Feb.

02/15/2026

Maybe it’s the winter blues, maybe it’s the snake giving way to the horse, maybe it’s my deep newfound IDGAF attitude about asking for what I want and showing up for it - but life lately has been grounded, and simple AF and so incredibly NOT curated.
From totally exploding my wardrobe- ditching more than 2/3rds of my belongings and going 100% capsule (and LOVING THE FEELING. It’s like a deep satisfaction… I can’t explain the feeling without being crude or obscene but holy 💩 if you get my drift) … to routinely cooking with the kids and letting them lead. To going back to baking 4-5x a week and reducing our purchasing of sh*tty packaged ‘snacks’ by 80%… to recession/depression recipes like creamy rice pudding and corn bread and shortbread jam squares and basic biscuits … to game nights and paper Valentines and swimming in pools that scare us. Old dogs and bird seed spread on a sunny Saturday leading to trees full of finches to wake us on Sunday.
The world is on 🔥 and sometimes the best thing you can do is just love what’s right there in front of you and not perform for anyone but yourself.
I’m re-divorcing from this platform again. I just want to be here when I want. I’m unfollowing the biz gurus and ‘coaches’ and one who feels like they are trying to use this platform to convince me I need something to fill a gap in myself. I’m following cute animals, fart jokes and smart people who talk about big things like God and love and body wisdom. I’m focusing on the things I want to grow, the people - like actual PEOPLE- I want to know. I’m taking LUNCH meetings - like I’ve gone from Voxer in 2020 to Zoom to Phone calls and text threads to DMs to asking people to LUNCH. Because I love people and I grow in 1:1 settings so ya. This is a ramble. Also I recorded and shared my first full yoga class today… and I’m pretty damn proud of myself. As my 9 year old reminded me ‘mamma two years ago, you couldn’t run and now you run and one year ago, you couldn’t teach yoga and you worked hard and now you do’… and it gets to be that simple and beautiful…Hot tip- stale red river cereal attracts finches. You’re welcome and I love YOU.

02/09/2026

I’ve been thinking about why communication feels so exhausting for so many smart, capable people.
And here’s what I’m landing on: you’re trying to fix people. Not lead them.

You show up to every post, every pitch, every conversation with the weight of “I have to solve this for them.”

You over-explain. You over-deliver. You pre-emptively answer objections you haven’t even heard yet.
And then you wonder why you’re burned out from “just posting on LinkedIn.”

Here’s the thing: your job isn’t to fix. It’s to lead.
When you’re trying to fix, you’re carrying the outcome. You’re responsible for whether they “get it,” whether they act, whether they change.

That’s a lot of weight.
And it shows up in your communication—you’re tense, you’re performing, you’re second-guessing every word.
When you’re leading, you’re holding space. You’re grounded. You’re clear. You offer insight—and you trust them to decide what to do with it.

This week’s newsletter explores what happens when you drop the “fix” expectation. Link in bio if you want it.

02/04/2026

In TV, we had a phrase: “No viz, no good.”
If there weren’t pictures, the story didn’t exist. The words served to enhance, but the visuals did the heavy lifting.
Your personal brand works the same way.
Except you are the visual.

Your audience isn’t just reading your captions or scrolling your website. They’re processing you—your energy, your presence, the way you show up.
If your system is dysregulated—anxious, performing, forcing confidence—they feel it. Even if your words are perfect.

I see this with founders and service providers all the time. You think your brand is what you say (your pitch, your copy, your posts).
But your brand is actually what your audience feels when they encounter you.

And if you’re showing up from a place that’s not grounded? They feel that too.
The question isn’t “what should I say?” It’s “who am I being when I say it?”

This is what I mean when I talk about embodied communication. It’s not new-age fluff. It’s the difference between words that land and words that bounce off.

You can have the perfect caption. But if your nervous system is dysregulated when you hit publish, your audience will sense the dissonance.

This week’s newsletter explores what changes when you shift from “content creation” to embodied communication. Link in bio if you want it.

02/02/2026

I used to think I was procrastinating before going on air.
Turns out, I was regulating my nervous system.
Before every live radio hit, I’d stare out the studio window—fixing my gaze on the horizon.

Because my body needed to locate itself in time and space before I could show up and talk about murder and thieves and global collapse.
The horizon is grounding. It’s soothing. It tells your system: you’re here, you’re safe, you can speak.

And here’s what I’ve been realizing lately: I’ve been practicing somatic communication my whole life. I just didn’t have the language for it.

When I was on the radio, I’d speak with my whole body. If I was sitting, it was on the edge of the chair. I’d feel the ground beneath me and speak through my vocal cords—but with the energy of the earth.

You are more than what you say. You are who you are being when you say it.

Your audience doesn’t just hear your words. They feel your nervous system.

If you’re dysregulated—performing, second-guessing, forcing confidence—they feel that too. Even if they can’t name it.

Your communication problem isn’t what you’re saying. It’s what’s happening in your body when you say it.

This week’s newsletter goes deeper into what I learned about embodied communication from 20 years in broadcasting. Link in bio if you want it.

01/30/2026

I made the scorecard free.
No email gate. No “enter your info to see results.” No funnel on the other side.
And I know what people think when I say that:
“You’re not capturing emails.”
“You’re leaving money on the table.”
“Don’t you want to build your list?”
Here’s the thing:
I don’t want a massive list I need to funnel.
I want an aligned list of people who actually want to hear what I think.
Small. Mighty. Specific.
If you’re impressed with the scorecard? You’ll dig around for more.
Maybe you’ll book the 1:1 diagnostic where we go deeper on your specific communication breakdown.
Maybe you’ll refer me to someone else who needs this kind of thinking.
Maybe you’ll just subscribe to the newsletter because you value strategic clarity over tactics.
That’s how this works now.
Not through funnels (although funnels *can and *do work). Through resonance. 🌟
The scorecard gives away what I’d tell you on a call anyway. It creates leverage for me—I don’t have to repeat the same diagnostic conversation forty-seven times.
And it creates clarity for you—you know exactly where your communication is breaking down and what to fix first.
No tricks. No gates. Just useful.
If that kind of approach resonates, my newsletter goes out twice a week now.
Strategic thinking on communication, presence, and infrastructure. Not tactics. Not hacks. Just the kind of thinking that helps you build businesses that hold.
Link in bio.
What matters more to you—big list or aligned list?

01/29/2026

There’s this challenge with being brilliant at what you do and then being the best kept secret.
Sometimes I feel guilty for being that.
Not because I’m hiding. But because I could be more visible. I could be reaching more people.
Here’s the truth: 🕺
I only take four clients at a time.
And I know what happens every time I say that. People self-disqualify.
“Oh, she’s full.”
“I don’t want to bother her.”
“She’s probably not taking anyone new.”
Let me clear this up:
The four-client cap is about quality, not scarcity.
I work deeply. I work strategically. I work with people who need a partner embedded in their thinking, not a vendor delivering a project.
But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reach out.
Sometimes there’s immediate availability.
Sometimes there’s a short waitlist.
Sometimes I’m not the right fit—but I know who is, and I’ll connect you.
You’ll never know if you decide for me before we even talk.
I’m opening coaching again, by the way. 🌟
Communications coaching. Presence. Positioning. Messaging. Marketing decisions that feel aligned instead of borrowed.
I bring a somatic lens because communication strategy is less about what you say and more about who you’re being when you say it.
If you’re brilliant at what you do but invisible in the market—reach out.
If you’re exhausted from performing and ready to communicate from presence—reach out.
My DMs are open.
(Or take the free scorecard first. Five minutes. No email required. Then reach out if it resonates. Link in bio.)

01/28/2026

I’m seeing a pattern with clients right now.
And it’s entirely collective.
People are afraid to say nothing.
And people are afraid to say anything.
That tension is real. It’s specific to this moment. And it’s paralyzing a lot of smart people who have valuable things to contribute but can’t figure out how to do it without feeling performative or exposed.

Here’s what I keep coming back to:
Authenticity is not something to chase.
It’s a byproduct of presence.

Same with vulnerability. Same with “being yourself” in your communication.

You can’t manufacture these things through tactics or frameworks. You can only create the conditions where they emerge naturally. ✨

And those conditions are pretty straightforward:
Clarity about what you actually think (not what you think you should think, not what sounds impressive, just what’s true for you)

Credibility signals that match your expertise (so when people need what you do, they can actually find you and trust you)

Consistency in how you show up (so your message compounds over time instead of confusing your market)

When those three are aligned? You don’t have to think about authenticity. It just is.
When they’re misaligned? You’re stuck in that tension.

Afraid to speak because you’re not sure what to say or how to say it. Afraid to stay silent because you know you’re leaving momentum on the table.
The scorecard I built measures these three pillars.
It’s free. Takes five minutes. No email required because honestly? I don’t want a massive list I need to funnel. I want an aligned list of people who actually value this kind of thinking.

It’ll show you exactly where the misalignment is—Clarity gap, Credibility hole, or Consistency problem—and what to fix first.
Because the answer to “should I say something?” isn’t about courage.
It’s about clarity.
If you’re stuck in this tension, take the scorecard. Link in bio.

(And if you’re impressed with it, you’ll probably dig around for more. Maybe book the 1:1 diagnostic where we solve your specific communication problem. Maybe just subscribe to the newsletter. That’s how this works now—through resonance, not funnels.)

06/27/2023

Vibe for the week. Who’s in? 🦹🏻‍♀️

06/27/2023

Blue Jays fan in an Expos hat.
Can opposites co-exist?!? 😂
Yes. They. can!

I’m a Radio girl in a modern media world. The parallels are uncanny.

Here’s the thing about uncanniness and being two apparently opposing things at once …

It’s necessary!
It’s human!

Y’all I had a really AMAZING call today. It was definitely a ‘business’ call. But it was also a human connection. (Both/and)

On the call, for 90 mins, I *had to be the modern media expert I am. I *had to show up in my ‘power and experience’ and sometimes ‘own the room’… and yet, I was still vulnerable and real (and at one point I teared up talking about the pain and grief I still carry for part of my old life)…

But guess what? Being authentic? Connecting?

You get to be BOTH AND.
An expert AND authentic.
Strong AND soft.
Adamant AND affable.
Serious about what you do, who you are, and what you want AND fair, kind and likeable.

A JAYS FAN IN AN EXPOS HAT.

PS. DT and I got back in the studio together on a NEW SHOW we are developing at SSN. (I haven’t been on a mic in six months).
Deets coming soon - but first to our newsletter … so get on that cuz it goes out tomorrow!

05/30/2023

Be the happy puppy! Workshop is TOMORROW!!
How to Promote and Grow your Podcast…
We’ll talk about

+ guesting
+ social media (and the not-hustle)
+ the secrets weapon to get Apple and Spotify to love you
+ the pitfall to avoid if you don’t wanna lose listeners

Plus! 🎁 for showing up live AND probably the most crazy announcement I’ve made (well - at least recently) 😂

See you there!

It's Erin Trafford

02/24/2026

02/15/2026

02/09/2026

02/04/2026

02/02/2026

01/30/2026

01/29/2026

01/28/2026

06/27/2023

06/27/2023

05/30/2023

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category