I’m reading a lovely French book about a kimono artist in Japan. In it, the author describes watching an encounter between the kimono maker’s wife and a fishmonger. The fishmonger and the kimono...

This year, I'm grateful for a lovely family and a thriving business. For a dynamic life in Manhattan and for living around the corner from the Village Vanguard. I never dreamed I'd be so lucky. I'm...

People love to care a lot about things that don't matter a great deal. For example, do you watch The Great British Baking Show on Netflix? If you do, I bet you have a strong opinion about whether...

When I was a kid growing up in South London, I loved the Usborne Detective's Handbook. One of my favorite pages was this one about how to “set up an office” (see below)—including advice to keep a...

This week my son Freddy learned the most valuable gesture of them all, to cross his fingers. See above. And my book recommendation is Paris Trance by Geoff Dyer. Reading it, I’ve come to realize...

In general, I like to be a positive person. But only because I feel like that’s the thing you have to say before going off on a rant. Let’s cut to the chase…  What’s up with podcasts? I was on a...

I spent the weekend in upstate New York, meditating at an ashram. Eating vegan food. Doing yoga. You know. Getting my Henry David Thoreau on. My favorite example of someone trying to do this and...

I spent three days last week at Commnet’s virtual conference. That’s me in the picture unpacking their fancy swag box and showing off my strategically placed houseplants. Here are the three most...

It's #WorldMentalHealthDay this weekend, and this is what mental illness looks like. I know, right? Downright gorgeous…🥸 Let’s break the stigma. A lot of us have an idea in our heads of what someone...

I love reading newsletters, and I love creating them for my clients. We don't ALL need a regular newsletter, but I do think most people and organizations would benefit greatly from having one....

I turned 42 on Saturday. It's the number of streets in the block number for Times Square and the New York Public Library. Or the meaning of the universe, according to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the...

Don't read the comments. That's a piece of advice I give to most of my clients when they're featured in the media. Because at some point, when you put your head above the parapet, somebody is going...

A decade working as a journalist in newsrooms on both sides of the Atlantic gave me a hard sense of what’s news. And what isn’t.

As a "comms whisperer" I'm often brought in when people have a handful of reporters they've been talking to, but aren't sure how to best to leverage those relationships to get coverage for their...

I’ve been mostly off work, but it’s been a fun month. I went with my wife and son from New York to England and Italy, our first proper vacation since before COVID and the first of little Freddy’s...

When people ask me what they should look for in a communications consultant, I say "is his name Matt Davis?"  🥸 But there's more to it. Let me tell you an illustrative story.  My friend Russ was...

Challenge is important. No matter how well you're dressed, if you're an emperor. Or how great your communications strategies might be.   Tricky subject for many of us, this, but I’m here to tell you...

One of my favorite Martin Luther King, Jr quotes is about the value of hard work. He said that if you're called to be a street sweeper, you should do it like Michaelangelo painted. You should sweep...

First up, would you like a free seven-day pass to Masterclass? I’ve been taking a course in political campaign messaging led by Karl Rove and David Axelrod and have two free seven-day passes to give...

I have a strong South London accent. Nobody in America hears the difference but people in London used to comment on it often. Which is a large part of why I moved to New York. Everyone here assumes...

The last time England, where I was born, beat Germany in a major soccer tournament was 1966. It’s taken 55 years for us, as a country, to process our doubts and overcome them.  What does England's...

'This is the best event I have attended definitely for 2021, perhaps throughout my working life!' That’s actual feedback we got on last week’s hastily convened Transatlantic conversation about...

There are a few services out there that charge PR people like me thousands of dollars to post press releases online, and spam them out to reporters all over the world. You can search these databases...

Most of us wish we could easily recreate our ideal tone of voice, quickly. But it’s a challenge.

It’s rare I’ll begin working with a client when they’re calm and relaxed. Still, it doesn’t mean anything is actually on fire.

“Professionalism” is actually a trojan horse for talking about inclusion.

What does it mean to be “professional” at work?

When you need to get somebody’s attention, what do you do?

Leaders often tell me they’re too busy to communicate, but in the same breath they ask how they can quickly multiply their audience.

Making a film for a group of cooperative bakeries that are trying to be a “democracy demonstration project”.

Sorry, not sorry, to open this by linking you to a Spice Girls video.

Populism is almost a vulgar concept, particularly if you’ve worked seriously on a cause you believe in for decades.

I’ve been meaning to share a great survey from a British comms recruiter for a while. They surveyed communications people on their reasons for quitting.

I’m high-strung when it comes to this sort of thing.

A former high school friend of mine, Ed, ran 68 miles this past weekend. Question: Why on earth would anybody want to do that?

Don’t worry, this isn’t an Elton John fan post. That would really warrant an apology.

We have a new teammember!

Career coaching is a great way to keep things interesting and for me to stay engaged as a consultant. As part of that process I’ve been prioritizing my career goals. And it turns out? “Delivering...

No pressure. But how would you explain your worst mistake?

I was inspired by something I saw walking through midtown…

I’m all for us having this conversation more openly.

The short answer is yes, but not very often. And certainly not in this case.

Because character is how you treat people who can do nothing for you.

What I learned about communications from losing the “Covid-19″…or 20. Pounds.

Racial justice risk can be a factor in long term financial performance.

“I call Matt the Michael Clayton of press coverage,” said a colleague, recently.

Why do people listen to what you have to say? What makes them engage with you?

…it’s the writing.

…don’t tell me you’re doing any actual WORK between Dec 15 and January 5…

…like Santa Claus, a lot of people talk about these things. But does yours actually exist?

aka “sell more books.”

Simplicity+Focus=Engagement!

…my first job washing dishes.

“Find a Subject You Care About” and “Pity the reader.”

Don’t worry. It’s a metaphor with broader implications for our democracy.

Ho-o-ly mackerel!

Don’t push the red button. Don’t even think about it. You see where I’m going with this, I hope.

It’s a subtle art, but it pays dividends.

We need to believe in our work. We need to have energy. We need to have presence.

It’s really quite simple, actually…

My grandfather built his own central heating system from scratch. I will not be doing that.

I’m being chased by an inflatable white ball. But that ball is an instant messenger service.

How do you stand out from the crowd when your communications are designed by committee?

Give good writing a fighting chance through any approvals process.

Don’t beg. For a start.

It’s direct advice for public speaking, but it works.

If you care about how it feels to do a job, then we’ll have a lot in common.

Rather than “always be closing”, “always be considerate.”

How storytellers build your movement.

Tricky question, this…

Having served as a journalist for a decade, I favor the opposite of a Friday Night News Dump™…

For behavior change to happen, “cultural norming” is required.

The most common writing advice I give my clients is to write shorter.

Leaders are looking around at the likes of Ben & Jerry’s, right now.

Think of France’s national motto: Liberté, égalité, fraternité.

What are you reading? What’s on your bookshelf?

I understand that feeling of being stuck when it comes to talking about race. But here’s why I will buy you a cookie if you use the word “race” on LinkedIn. Seriously.

I hate to break it to you, but it doesn’t matter how right you are.

If you can’t persuade people, then you’ll lose.

It’s paralyzing to write about mental health, because who’s the audience? Everyone? It should be.

“To be honest, I never really thought about why I needed a website,” he said. Ruh-roh!

Trees communicate at the pace of a third of an inch a minute, apparently. I know, right? It was, in fact, news to me that they could communicate at all.* But when they’re under attack, they’ll send...

You want a new website? You want to focus more on getting press hits? What about a statement of organizational values to show the world what you're all about?  Where to start?! The hard truth...

A well executed, short animation will garner more views and better cut-through for your message. After coming up with the idea of resurrecting Britain's "Charley Says" public safety films, to...

During my time at Brickwall, a digital creative production studio in London’s Shoreditch, our “Hot Looks” film drawing attention to the dangers of hair straighteners won a 2014 CorpComms Digi Award...

It can be particularly hard these days to get somebody to answer a question in an interesting and engaging way. Our interviews run to tight schedules, with talking points rehearsed in-depth, in...