How AI Can Shape Your Company Culture with Kieran Snyder

The way we use language is evolving. AI-powered natural language processing (NLP) rapidly changes how we communicate and shape our company cultures.

In a time when inclusivity and empathy are more important than ever before, Textio leads the charge in revolutionizing the way we write and communicate.

I tried their tool and was impressed with how much I learned in a single session.

In this week’s episode, I sat down with the CEO and Co-Founder of Textio, Kieran Snyder.

Kieran is an accomplished expert in the field of NLP. After completing a Ph.D. in Natural Language Processing at the University of Pennsylvania, she began her industry career as a product manager at Microsoft, where she built Microsoft’s linguistic platform for developers and led Microsoft’s company-wide effort to integrate search into the Microsoft Windows platform. In her decade at Microsoft and Amazon, she led product development efforts for many of the world’s most impactful language products.

In our conversation, Kieran and I dive deep into the power of language and how software can help businesses create more inclusive communication.

But it’s not just about inclusivity.

We know that language can also be a powerful tool for persuasion and influence. By using the right words and tone, companies can create more compelling messages that resonate with their audience and drive action.

In a world where polarization and bias are rampant, Textio’s mission is more significant than ever. As Kieran puts it, “It’s not about being woke; it’s about making language more effective.”

Highlights:

• The problem with bias in workplace communication.
• Textio’s feedback product – how it works and why you might benefit from it.
• The 5 principles of Textio and how they drive the way the team works together.
• The difference between Textio and Grammarly.
• Mapping a company’s culture via NLP.
• How language shapes culture.
• Overcoming the challenges of a distributed team.

“It’s not about being woke; it’s about making language more effective.”

How Textio can improve the way you give feedback to your team

• It will call you out when your feedback is about the person instead of about their performance. Even when you say something like: “You are a delight to work with”!
• It will make suggestions to rephrase; for example, in the sample, I used to test it, it suggested using “your approach to work” or “the way you do things” instead of “ your attitude.”
• It will pick up on exaggerations, such as “never” or “always” and will make suggestions, for example, to use “rarely” instead of “never.”
• It will ask you to be more specific. “A great year” won’t cut it, according to Textio! It will ask you for details and facts. Moreover, it will discourage you from using vague language, such as “I have an impression” or even “I think.” Textio will guide you to steer clear of cliches, too – for example, “ to level up”, – as they can be vague to people.
• It will highlight sentences that are too long or too complex and ask you to rewrite them for simplicity and clarity.
• It will flag terms that can be potentially harmful. I was surprised to see “tribe” being flagged as harmful – but the explanation made total sense to me: “When tribe is used outside of its literal meaning, it can demean the culture of African or indigenous communities. In this case, Textio suggested using words like team, family, group or community.

Listen to the interview in the player below or on iTunes. If you like what you hear, please leave a review, and it may be featured on a future episode.

More About Kieran Snyder

Kieran Snyder is a highly accomplished business leader and technology executive with more than 20 years of experience in the industry. She has a strong track record of success in driving growth and innovation at companies and has a proven ability to build and lead high-performing teams.

After completing a Ph.D. in Natural Language Processing at the University of Pennsylvania, Kieran began her industry career as a product manager at Microsoft, where she built Microsoft’s linguistic platform for developers and led Microsoft’s company-wide effort to integrate search into the Microsoft Windows platform. In her decade at Microsoft and Amazon, she led product development efforts for many of the world’s most impactful language products.

Kieran is a world-renowned expert on language and bias at work, and her writing has appeared in Fortune, The New York Times, Slate, and the Washington Post. She published the initial Fortune data studies which put the topic of language bias in performance feedback on the map.

As Textio’s Co-Founder and CEO, Kieran led her team in the invention of augmented writing, which uses machine learning algorithms to help writers communicate more effectively. Textio’s augmented writing software is used by hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies globally to recruit more inclusively and communicate more equitably at work.

Kieran is highly respected in the technology industry and is regularly sought out as a speaker and thought leader on topics of language, software, and bias. She is also a mentor to many aspiring business leaders and serves on the boards of ConvertKit, Masterful, and Atlas AI.

Books mentioned in this conversation

Contagious by Jonah Berger

American Nations by Colin Woodard

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Companies mentioned in this conversation

Textio

CultureX

Grammarly

Additional resources

CultureBrained® Community – a one-of-a-kind virtual community for Heads of Culture, founders, and leaders who want to up their culture game.

The Culture Playbook Guide.

Discover Your Personal Values