#51, Bravery In Tech Communications
Jenny Mowat, CEO of Babel, launches Babel’s 2026 Bravery series on the Digital Communicators Podcast, focused on what “bravery choices” mean for B2B brands. She is joined by Sophie Hodgson, Communications Director at Cisco, who discusses how bravery can range from simply getting out of bed to voicing the “elephant in the room” in meetings, emphasising “progress, not perfection.” Sophie shares a personal example of posting “my name is Sophie, and I have ambitions,” and reflects on how being a “yes person” can backfire when issues arise later. She outlines her career path from studying public relations at Bournemouth University, working in agencies, moving into tech PR, then going in-house at Cloudera during the pandemic, which helped her understand internal approval processes, before joining Cisco.
Sophie explains the importance and difficulty of saying no as a people pleaser, reframing no as the start of a new conversation, and highlights guidance from coach Alison O’Leary on not over-validating a refusal. She recounts advice from Susan Space at Cloudera about only apologising when necessary, and references Mel Robbins’ “Let Them” framework as a tool for letting go of draining pressures. On managing demands, she describes protecting her peace by delaying checking messages in the morning, inspired by CEO Charles Sweeney’s approach of aligning messages to daily goals, and notes the constant expectation of instant replies. On AI, Sophie argues increased automation will make communications “more human,” citing Petri (SVP and GM for Splunk EMEA), and says audiences increasingly value authentic, less-produced content.
She describes AI as useful for research, summarising documents, identifying trends, and journalist targeting, while warning about bias, limitations, fact-checking, and confidentiality; she notes Cisco provides AI courses to build awareness. Sophie also explains how global comms should keep a consistent core message while adapting tone and storytelling to local contexts and political environments. Her advice for ambitious communicators includes being curious, reading the news, asking questions, shadowing other functions, trusting your gut, and “talking truth to power,” echoing Cisco’s CCO Steve’s message to be truth tellers.
Back2Brave is the podcast from Babel: the agency for B2B tech brands ready to move faster. We combine 20 years of deep sector insight with integrated creative strategies to help clients navigate risk and standout in crowded markets. With Babel, it’s safe to be brave. Visit us at www.babelpr.com.
