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Authenticity might be the most abused word in business today. Every AI tool promises to preserve it. Every leadership guru sells it as a brand pillar. And the more it gets thrown around, the less it actually means.
In this episode of The Trending Communicator, host Dan Nestle sits down with Allison Shapira — founder and CEO of Global Public Speaking, Harvard Kennedy School lecturer, regular HBR contributor, and author of AI for the Authentic Leader: How to Communicate More Effectively Without Losing Your Humanity. Allison went from the opera stage to the corridors of diplomacy, eventually building a global communication training company that now coaches prime ministers, cabinet members, and Fortune 100 executives in their highest-stakes moments.
Allison and Dan dig into what authenticity actually means when AI can draft your speech in seconds, why generic AI output is quietly eroding trust between leaders and the teams they lead, and how the AI Authenticity Loop gives communicators a practical way to use these tools without flattening their voice. Along the way, they explore why live speaking might be the last place left to be certain a human is being human — and why the choices we make about AI in the next three years will determine whether it brings us together or pulls us apart.
Listen in and hear about...
- Strategic authenticity, and why "rolling out of bed without brushing your teeth" doesn't count
- The ACE model — authenticity, clarity, and energy — as the foundation of leadership voice
- What new research reveals about how AI overuse erodes trust between leaders and teams
- The five-step AI Authenticity Loop and what "starts with you" actually means
- Behavioral training, not technical training, as the real key to AI adoption
- Why leaders need to be vulnerable about their AI use before their teams will trust them
Notable Quotes from Allison Shapira
"This is not about keeping the human in the loop. As I say in my book, the human IS the loop."
"It would be rude to ask a human for feedback when you haven't asked an AI first because it would be a waste of the human's time."
"The decisions we make in the next three years will determine where AI goes. Whether it brings us together, builds trust, whether it pushes us apart and isolates us even further."
Resources and Links
Dan Nestle
- Lilypath | Website
- Inquisitive Communications | Website
- The Trending Communicator | Website
- Communications Trends from Trending Communicators | Dan Nestle's Substack
- Dan Nestle | LinkedIn
Allison Shapira
Timestamps
0:00:00 Introduction: Authenticity, leadership, and guest Allison Shapira
0:06:18 Allison Shapira’s journey: From opera to diplomacy and communication
0:12:29 Defining effective leadership communication and the ACE model
0:18:20 AI's impact on human connection and the risks to authentic communication
0:24:01 Strategic authenticity: Aligning personal and organizational values
0:31:07 How AI undermines trust when misused in corporate messaging
0:37:21 Human vs. AI knowledge: Authenticity and lived experience
0:43:50 Dangers of outsourcing critical thinking to AI and accountability
0:50:01 The AI Authenticity Loop: Five-step framework explained
0:57:25 Importance of feedback and critical engagement with AI tools
1:01:49 Final thoughts: Shaping the future of AI, authenticity, and leadership
(Notes co-created by Human Dan, Claude, and Castmagic)
About The Trending Communicator
The Trending Communicator is a podcast about the future of communications and marketing, hosted by Dan Nestle. Each episode is a conversation with a communicator, marketer, author, or technologist about how the work is changing and what that means for the people doing it. The show launched in 2020 as The Dan Nestle Show and has published more than 150 episodes.
About the Host
Dan Nestle (Daniel Nestle) is a communications strategist with more than 25 years of experience, including 16 years in Japan. He is co-founder and Chief Product & Intelligence Officer of Lilypath, the company behind the patent-pending Authority Intelligence™ platform, and founder and Chief Curiosity Officer of Inquisitive Communications, a strategic advisory practice. He received the 2022 Arthur W. Page Society Page Up Innovation Award, was named a PRWeek Dashboard 25 AI Pioneer in 2023 and 2024, and was named one of Propel's 100 Most Influential PR Tech Leaders Worldwide in 2025.
Connect with Dan
The Trending Communicator: https://trendingcommunicator.com
Substack: https://trendingcommunicator.substack.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nestle
Lilypath: https://lilypath.com
Inquisitive Communications: https://be-inquisitive.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/trendingcommunicator
Show notes for The Trending Communicator are co-created by Human Dan, Claude, and Fireflies.
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