Client Spotlight: Dr. Kristen Donnelly is an award-winning speaker, author, and researcher. The founder of Abbey Research, she partners with corporations to build cultures no one wants to quit. A graduate of Pathway to Publication, she recently wrote “Gen Z 101: How to Develop Talent Across Generations” for the Association of Talent Development.

Good morning, !

I was on micro-sabbatical last week. I was inspired by my friend Chloé Nwangwu, and a few years ago, I started reserving one week every quarter for a micro-sabbatical. This year, I started reserving a week every other month.

These micro-sabbaticals are not time off. They are, instead, time for deep work. This is when I dive into research and writing. It's when I slow down and take a look at my business and the ever-changing business landscape, and figure out what I need to do differently, what I need to let go of, and what I need to double-down on. Here are my observations from last week:

• I need to do sales differently. I love building relationships and getting to know smart people. I love sharing what I know and being of service. But I have not been good at asking for the sale. I needed to be reminded that sales is not difficult or sleazy. This free webinar with Jessica Lorimer provided that reminder and helped me get unstuck.

• I need to let go of stories that don't serve me. Most of those stories are based on fear, not reality. But that fear holds me back and keeps me from doing what I need to do for my business. I knew I needed some structure and accountability to actually do sales differently, so I joined Jessica Lackey's Deeper Foundations Community.

• I need to double-down on deep work and critical thinking. In a world where 44% of corporate executives would defer to AI's reasoning over their own, even though we know generative AI is not reliable, critical thinking is more important than ever. And one of the best ways to become a deeper thinker is to become a better writer. And that requires you to engage in deep work, which is the work I enjoy most.

The world is a wicked noisy place. The internet was full of fluff-n-stuff even before generative AI came around, and now we have the capacity to generate fluff-and-stuff at scale.

But adding to the noise won't help you rise above the noise. Instead, we have to add to the conversation.

That's what this month's article is all about.

Read on, my friend!

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Add to the Conversation, Not the Noise: How To Use NotebookLM To Conduct a Gap Analysis

Publications are looking for articles that say something new — that offer a different perspective, deeper dive, or a new approach to an old problem. They are looking for articles that add to the conversation, not the noise.

Writing for high-visibility publications isn’t merely about sharing your ideas. It’s about positioning yourself as an authoritative expert, differentiating yourself from your peers, and opening the door to more opportunities. 

But publishing articles that fail to add to the conversation won’t deliver these business outcomes. That’s why it is critical to identify the gaps in industry conversations — gaps that you can bridge by sharing your expertise and insights. Here’s how to get started.

Step 1: Build your research notebook.

Developed by Google, NotebookLM is a free tool that allows you to create online research notebooks. You upload source content to a topic-specific research notebook, and then you can ask questions related to the uploaded content. While this is certainly valuable when conducting research, it can also help you identify themes, topics, and gaps in the conversation a publication is having with its audience. 

There are five steps to building a research notebook to conduct a gap analysis:

1. If you are writing for a digital publication, use the publication’s search feature to identify the articles most relevant to your area of expertise. Because NotebookLM cannot access webpages that are behind a paywall, and only imports visible text, I recommend downloading each article as an individual PDF. For your gap analysis, start with the 25 most recent articles.

2. Log in to your Google Account (if you don’t have one, you’ll need to create one), and navigate to NotebookLM. 

3. Click on TRY NOTEBOOKLM, and then + CREATE NEW to create a new notebook.

4. Upload PDFs of the 25 most recent articles to the notebook. These will serve as the source documents. (Each notebook can hold up to 50 source documents.)

5. Name the notebook. Keep your naming conventions simple so you’ll know exactly what is in the notebook. For the purposes of a gap analysis, I recommend [Name of Publication]: [Topic].

I helped Dr. Kristen Donnelly conduct a gap analysis of TD Magazine, published by the Association for Talent Development (ATD), and the association’s blog. Kristen regularly speaks at ATD’s conferences and recently presented her research on the talent development challenges inherent in multigenerational workplaces. To identify the gaps in the conversation around multigenerational workplaces, we created two notebooks — one for each of the association’s publications. For TD Magazine, we uploaded PDF versions of the last 12-months worth of issues. For the blog, we created a focused notebook containing every article written about Generation Z. 

Step 2: Identify the gaps in the conversation.

NotebookLM can help you identify the main themes in your selected publication, which will help you see where your ideas fit. You can also use it to dig deeper into specific topics to discover what aspects of that topic haven’t been explored fully. 

Start with broad questions to understand the themes of the conversation thus far, then narrow your focus with more specific queries. Don’t worry too much about crafting the right question — NotebookLM is pretty savvy and responds well to simple, everyday language. Here are a few questions to get you started:

• Based on the source material, what topics appear most frequently in discussions about [topic]? What related topics are notably absent or underexplored?

• Based on the publication dates of these materials, how have discussions about [topic] evolved? What emerging trends are mentioned but not explored in depth? What newer aspects of the conversation aren’t fully developed yet?

• What theoretical frameworks or models about [topic] are commonly referenced across these sources? What alternative frameworks exist but aren’t well-represented?

• What perspectives or viewpoints are well-represented in discussions about [topic]? What perspectives, viewpoints, voices, industries, or organizational contexts are underrepresented?

• When it comes to [topic], what practical implementation challenges do professionals in this field face that are not adequately addressed?

When you use NotebookLM to identify the gaps in the conversation, it can also identify and summarize the main point of each article. As NotebookLM answers your questions, it will reference specific source documents within the notebook. This allows you to focus your time on those articles that are most relevant to your area of expertise, so you don’t have to read every piece in depth. 

One of the most common ways to add to the conversation is by adding nuance. As you read each article, capture quotes that stand out and note your response to those quotes. One way to do this is to review each quote and write a statement that starts with “yes, and,” “yes, but,” or “no because.” Those simple prompts help you dig deeper and bring more nuance to the conversation. It will also help you clarify your position, identify the angle of your article, and address the specific gap you identified.

As a part of Dr. Donnelly’s speaking engagement at the ATD conference, she was invited to write an article for the association’s blog. The gap analysis revealed the articles about multigenerational workplaces focused on Generation Z’s values. While almost all mentioned that members of Generation Z are digital natives, none explored how their foundational experiences shaped their critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills. Dr. Donnelly’s article, Gen Z 101: How to Develop Talent Across Generations, provides the context that was missing from the conversation. 

Step 3: Pitch your idea.

Once you’ve identified the gaps in the conversation, choose two or three that align with your expertise. Validate those gaps by reviewing the relevant articles to make sure NotebookLM’s interpretation is accurate. If the selected publication has an editorial calendar, review it to make sure the topic fits with the publication’s upcoming priorities. 

These validation steps may eliminate one or more article ideas from consideration. If that isn’t the case, choose the conversation where you can add the most value. When preparing your pitch to the publication, explicitly mention how your article addresses an identified gap in their coverage. For example, Dr. Donnelly is in the process of conducting a gap analysis of TD Magazine. If she chooses to write about Generation Alpha, the generation following Generation Z, her pitch might say:

“TD Magazine has published several articles about multigenerational workplaces, but there’s been limited discussion about Generation Alpha, the newest generation to enter the workforce. My proposed article, tentatively titled “How Generation Alpha’s Foundational Experiences Will Shape Tomorrow’s Workplaces,” addresses this gap by providing talent development professionals with practical approaches to onboarding, training, and supporting this new generation of employees.”

Adopting this approach positions you as more than just another expert contributor seeking exposure; it positions you as a valuable resource to your editor. Editors are under constant pressure to provide their readers with actionable insights. When you identify a gap in the conversation a publication is having with its readers, and offer to fill it, you’re solving a problem for the editor. It’s a great first step to building that relationship.

In a noisy world where you can now churn out mediocre content at scale, you want to be known as someone who adds to the conversation, not to the noise. Publications are actively seeking expert contributors who offer fresh perspectives, deeper insights, and new approaches to long-standing problems. 

Finding these opportunities used to require hours of painstaking research and analysis. But with tools like NotebookLM, you can easily identify meaningful gaps in the conversation and bring your expertise to bear on questions where it’s needed most. That not only increases the chances of your pitch being accepted, it also lays the foundation for a sustainable strategy that will build your reputation over time. 

Each article you write should be part of a coherent body of work that demonstrates your expertise and helps shape your industry’s most important conversations. The cumulative impact of these articles allows you to move from being one of many voices in your field, to an authoritative expert whose insights are actively sought.

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"We are drowning in information while starving for wisdom."

~ Edward O. Wilson, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge

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Upcoming Events

Pitched to Published™ 

Interested in learning how to write, pitch, and publish articles for high-visibility publications? Join me next week, Wednesday, June 11, at 11:55 AM Eastern, for a mini-training on how to pitch articles to high-visibility publications, followed by a Q+A. I host this free, public event every month. Register here.

Master Class: How to Write for High-Visibility Publications

In this free 60-minute master class, I will share the SILVA Method™ and walk you step-by-step through the process I use to help my clients secure bylines in publications like Harvard Business Review, Inc., and TD Magazine. I host these events every other month. Join me for the next master class on Wednesday, June 11, at 2 PM Eastern. Register here.

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Drop me an email or book a call if you'd like to explore working together. I'd love to learn more about you and your business and how I might be of service.

Take good care,

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AI Disclosure Statement: Aside from using NotebookLM as detailed in the article above, no AI tools were used to write this email newsletter.