Most internships teach young professionals what to do. I want my Pitch Stars to understand why it matters. That was the inspiration behind our recent LIFT “Break Remote Barriers” immersive day in New York City. Throughout the day, I intentionally designed four experiences that brought Touchpoint Seven: Break Remote Barriers to life, while reinforcing an often-overlooked lesson from Touchpoint Three: Provide Purpose.
Because mentorship doesn’t happen only through conversations. Sometimes it happens through experiences.
Stop One: Step Into Someone Else’s World
Our day began with a behind-the-scenes tour of “CBS Mornings,” where the Pitch Stars met host Nate Burleson and explored the producers’ workspaces, control room and newsroom. As publicists, we spend our days pitching journalists. But if you’ve never seen how a newsroom operates, it’s difficult to truly appreciate what happens after you leave a voicemail or hit “send.” The tour wasn’t simply about seeing a television studio. It was about understanding the people we serve. The more we understand how journalists think, work and make decisions, the more valuable partners we become.
Stop Two: Let People See Who You Really Are
Next, we picked up New York bagels and headed to the Pitch Pad—my Manhattan apartment and remote office where I wrote LIFT. The breakfast table was intentionally set with LIFT gifts, fresh fruit and coffee. My mom joined us and my boxer dog Winnie greeted everyone. Even Pitch Star Leah Weiss, who couldn’t be in New York, joined us remotely with her bagel from Tampa. That stop reminded me that remote work doesn’t have to create emotional distance. As I share in LIFT, I can easily default into “Polar Bear Boss” mode—focused on productivity and getting things done. Inviting the team into my everyday environment allowed them to understand not only where I work, but who I am beyond Zoom calls and deadlines. Trust grows when people experience your world.
Stop Three: Experience the Story Before You Tell It
Our next stop immersed the team inside one of Pitch Publicity’s clients, Mind of a Serial Killer, while Leah visited Titanic: An Immersive Voyage in Tampa. Rather than asking the Pitch Stars to think like publicists, I challenged them to think like journalists. Each person had to uncover one story they believed genuinely deserved media coverage and report it in a one-minute reel. That assignment wasn’t about creating social media content. It was about understanding that great public relations begins with a simple question: Why does this story deserve to be told? That’s what Provide Purpose really means.Purpose isn’t always about helping someone discover their life’s calling. Sometimes it’s helping them understand the significance of the work they’re doing today. Check out the stories the Pitch Stars created (give us a 💛 on your favorties):
Leah Weiss: Tragic Titanic Lifeboats
Morgan Kranyecz: Evil Hiding in Plain Sight
Maiya Barnhardt: From Real Life to Horror Films
Elise Rudes: Psychoclogy Behind Bind Torture Kill
Allisyn Sauerwald: The Most Disturbing Charmer
Stop Four: Confidence Comes From Exposure
We ended our day at The Grill, located inside the Seagram Building in the original Four Seasons dining room—the birthplace of New York’s legendary power lunch. Before we even sat down, the Pitch Stars learned another lesson. The restaurant’s dress code required closed-toe shoes, so they spent the day carrying bags with dress shoes they could change into before lunch. It was a small detail, but one that reinforced an important truth: professional presence begins before you ever take your seat at the table. Standing in that room was especially meaningful for me because it was there, years ago, that I attended my first New York power lunch with Kelly Preston—a story I share in LIFT. For our Pitch Star power lunch, No deals were made that afternoon, but relationships were. And that’s exactly the point. Technology has transformed the way we work, but it hasn’t changed the way trust is built. If these Pitch Stars left believing they belong in rooms like this—and knowing how to help others belong too—then our day accomplished exactly what it was meant to do.
That’s what Breaking Remote Barriers looks like in practice. And that’s the kind of mentorship I hope every leader intentionally creates.
~Amy Summers, Founder & President of Pitch Publicity® & INICIVOX®