Employee spotlight
In their own words
LJ COADY, ASSOCIATE LANGUAGE STRATEGIST
Q&A WITH LJ COADY & ZEPHRON LESTER
You both work at a firm that’s obsessed with language. Was that always your thing, or did that passion for language find you somewhere along the way?
LJ: I studied political science, not linguistics, so it wasn’t a straight line. But I always loved a good debate, a good argument. If you think of language as the best way to articulate your point and actually convince people, then yes, that passion was always there.
Zephron: My path here is a little more unorthodox. I came from a football background; that was my world. But my passion for language really grew here. Learning the different ways we can frame something, how different words carry different emotions—that’s what drew me in, and it’s what keeps drawing me in every day.
What was it that actually pulled you toward m+p?
Zephron: Honestly, it was reading through the job description. I studied sociology in undergrad, which meant a lot of qualitative work. Most firms I was looking at were all about the quant, the “what.” But m+p does both the what and the why. That’s rare, and it’s what hooked me.
LJ: For me, it traces back to watching recent elections: the messaging wins and losses, whose rhetoric stuck, whose platform actually got understood. It was all about words. When I read how m+p talked about the “science of persuasion”—that it’s not just about how catchy your slogan is, but how people actually receive it—I was sold. I wanted to learn how to craft messaging that really reaches people.
A year later, how does the job match what you expected?
LJ: I’ve been surprised by how quantitative our work actually is. Our findings are backed by really robust samples and that’s been great to be part of. And I’ve gotten to watch us take a client’s brief and turn it into genuinely clever solutions for how they communicate.
Zephron: It matches—and honestly exceeds—what I thought. I figured the end product was the strategy. What I didn’t expect was how much I’d love the process: the curation, the fine detail. The proof really is in the pudding.
What does a “day in the life” of an Associate Language Strategist look like?
LJ: Every day really is different. We’re a firm that says yes to a lot of different kinds of client requests. But the common threads are: a lot of notetaking, a lot of analysis, a lot of research. Digging through quant data packets, reading (or watching) interview transcripts. We’re also very much a PowerPoint company, so there’s plenty of deck building and editing, plus brainstorming sessions and revisiting old projects to see what’s changed. I even help build case studies that explain our methodology to others. Is there a “typical” day? Not really, but that’s the flavor of it.
Zephron: Piggybacking off that… it really depends on the project. On a qual project, we’re sifting through transcripts, pulling insights, and bringing those to the strategist leading the project. On quant, it’s translating numbers into something digestible for the team. Day to day, I keep a checklist of tasks, and if I’m stuck, I ask the strategists. It’s a genuinely collaborative environment. Even today: deck building, digging through desk research, prepping for meetings. Every day is different, and it all depends on the project.
Happy anniversary, by the way! One year in, what’s one big thing you’ve learned—about the work, yourself, or both?
Zephron: I’ll make this personal: not everything is going to click on the first try. I had to get comfortable with not knowing something, speaking up, and asking for help. That’s something I’ve always struggled with and I’m still working on. Being transparent about where I need to improve, and letting go of chasing perfection on the first run.
LJ: Mine’s a bit broader. I came in expecting we’d be handed these massive framing problems from clients: big, dramatic shifts in how they think. In reality, I’ve been surprised by how simple the fix often is. It’s usually just a reordering of priorities; focusing on what your audience actually cares about. That’s held true project after project.
Let’s get personal: what’s something people might not learn about you from your LinkedIn profile?
LJ: I’m from Houston, Texas, and I grew up doing clay shooting with my dad; you know, shooting clay discs flung into the air. I hunt, too. Actually heading back to Texas soon for a tournament.
Zephron: Something nobody would guess from my profile: I used to do Muay Thai in high school. Beyond football, I also ran track and played lacrosse in middle school, plus basketball. I’ve always just been an athlete at heart. I like staying active.
Finish the sentence: “Words matter because…”
Zephron: …each word, each articulation, comes with a feeling. Words carry memories and associations, and that’s exactly why they’re powerful.
LJ: I think every conversation is, on some level, a negotiation. The way you frame your ideas, even in a casual conversation, matters, because the words you choose shape how your point actually lands.
We always advise our clients (and our team) to be concise. In that spirit, can you sum up your first year at m+p in just three words?
LJ: Dynamic. Growth. Fun. It’s a fast-moving industry with a lot of different tasks to learn; dynamic for sure! I’ve grown a ton; some training wheels definitely had to come off. And it’s genuinely been fun. Everyone here is awesome, and I’ve made a lot of friends. There’s lots of cool clients, cool projects, and fun things to do.
Zephron: Fun. Eye-opening. Impactful. Fun, like LJ said…
LJ: We’re in the best pod!
Zephron: Eye-opening because watching how a simple shift—sometimes just a word, a comma—can move the needle on a company’s KPIs never stops surprising me. And impactful, because the work we do genuinely matters. You learn something new every single day, and I love that.
