On the first Wednesday in March, we held one of our traditional Q&A chats, where top independent communication professionals shared thought leadership, tips and advice in response to questions submitted by the community (learn how to join us here). On March 8, 2017 we weighed in with opinions and insight on the following topics of interest:

1. It's International Women's Day, do you see disparity between genders as a solo? #solopr
2. What can we as solos do to level the paying field for both genders? How can we impact change? #solopr
3. How do you “reach across the aisle” when you and client (or their teams) have different opinions? #solopr
4. What are the key things you cover when onboarding a client? #solopr
5. Many companies have diversity/inclusion initiatives but is anyone pursuing diversity in media pitching? Tips? #solopr
6. Best resources for identifying potential speaking engagements for clients? Calendars? Trades? #solopr
   6b. How do solos find speaking engagements for themselves beyond the typical (i.e., chamber) stuff. #solopr

A few of the top tweets are highlighted below (followed by a link to the full transcript):

Be sure to check out the transcript in PDF for the full discussion. Please note that the transcript is in reverse chronological order. If you weren’t able to join us this week, weigh in on the chat questions in the comments and mark your calendars for the next chat on Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 1pm Eastern.