Switchboard Gets the Right People and the Right Messages
Into the Right Rooms.
Strategic Communications for Real Estate Development and City-Building Industries.
Switchboard helps businesses and leaders across the commercial real estate ecosystem sharpen their story, strengthen their reputation, and connect with the right people with the right messages, at the right moments.
One Strategy.
Connected by thousands of tiny moving pieces.
Switchboard Strategic Communications is a boutique communications and public relations consultancy operating in the centre of Canada’s commercial real estate and city building ecosystem.
By combining strategic communications with deep sector insights, we help clients sharpen their messaging and strengthen their visibility and credibility with key audience groups.
With a close ear to evolving conversations, strategies are always rooted in market context to ensure what gets communicated resonates with the right people, in the right places, and at the right moments.
KEY MESSAGING · MEDIA + VISIBILITY · THOUGHT LEADERSHIP · REPUTATION + ISSUES · STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS · STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS
KEY MESSAGING
Clarifying what you stand for and how you communicate your value.
MEDIA + INDUSTRY VISIBILITY
Getting your stories and perspectives in front of the right people.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Building credible voices around the ideas and issues that impact your business.
REPUTATION + ISSUES
Strengthening reputation and navigating complex or sensitive moments.
STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS
Communicating clearly with the audiences that influence your reputation and your business.
STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS
Facilitating stakeholder alignment and partnerships to boost credibility and strengthen your story.
Languages
Network Switchboard.
Real Estate Developers
Asset and Portfolio ManagersBuilding Owners and OperatorsInvestors & LendersPlacemaking and Development Advisory ConsultantsMultifamily Developers and Asset ManagersBuilding Science and Sustainability Leaders Architecture and Urban Design Firms
Non-Profit and Affordable Housing Providers
Industry Organizations and Associations
Engineering, Design and Construction Firms
Your Organization and CauseAbout Us
The Output of
Switchboard Connections.
Tai SchellLaurie Payton
Spanish and Italian Tutor
Cantonese and French Tutor
Jamie KokotGerman and French Tutor
Our work.
Mandarin and Japanese Tutor
Founder, German Tutor
Emmett MarshDallas MorenoWho We Work With.
DEVELOPMENT + OWNERSHIP
Multifamily Developers
Asset Owners
Institutional Investors
Development Advisors
DESIGN + CITY BUILDING
Architecture Firms
Planning Firms
Placemaking Specialists
City Building Organizations
PURPOSE + INNOVATION
Affordable Housing Organizations
Sustainability Leaders
Mission-Driven Organizations
Emerging Industry Voices
CORE OFFERINGS
Better Title Goes Here.
Messaging + Strategy
Audience and stakeholder insights, brand and project narrative development, positioning and communications planning designed to support business, reputation and visibility goals.
Thought Leadership + Media Relations
Strategic storytelling around project milestones, corporate announcements and market commentary, supported by media engagement, speaking opportunities and regional or national visibility campaigns.
Issues Management
Strategic communications counsel for complex or high-stakes situations, including stakeholder preparation, rapid response, tough Q&As and media guidance.
Effective Message Delivery
Customized coaching that helps leaders communicate with greater clarity, confidence and credibility, especially for tough questions, interviews and high-stakes conversations.
When To Bring Us In
You're repositioning.
1
A brand refresh, leadership transition or new strategic direction.
A new market, project launch, groundbreaking, opening or major announcement.
You're entering something new.
2
You need to be more visible.
3
Building market credibility, thought leadership and category expertise.
The conversation needs shaping.
4
Issues affecting your organization, project or reputation that need to be influenced, redirected or clarified.
The stakes are high.
5
Urgent issues, stakeholder fallout or situations requiring fast, strategic communications support.
Start a Conversation
We start with a conversation. Your goals, experience level, and pace shape the structure of your instruction. From the outset, you are immersed in the language as it is naturally spoken.
→ Book an Intro Call
Student Reviews
“French had always felt academic to me — useful in theory, but difficult in practice. At Common Tongue, the shift to native-led conversation changed everything. My instructor focused on real phrasing, tone, and context, especially in professional settings.
Within a few months, I was contributing confidently in cross-border meetings instead of relying on prepared notes. The fluency feels natural now — not rehearsed. Common Tongue helped me move from studying the language to actually using it.”
“I stopped translating. I started contributing.”
Channing Lee
Writer
“I started with no background in Portugese. Within weeks of working with a native instructor, I was understanding patterns and responding without translating in my head. The focus on real dialect and natural conversation helped me stop translating in my head and start responding instinctively.”
“With Common Tongue, I went from zero to conversation in weeks.”
Eleanor Parks
Executive Chef
“I joined Common Tongue because I wanted to connect more deeply during my travels in China. What surprised me most was how quickly I began understanding the rhythm of spoken Mandarin. The immersion style made the language feel intuitive rather than overwhelming.
By the time I arrived, I wasn’t just ordering food — I was having conversations. Here, they teach you how to actually speak, and that makes all the difference.”
“Here they you how people actually speak, and that makes all the difference.”
Sophia L.
Creative Director
“I grew up hearing German at home but never felt confident speaking it myself. Mother Tongue helped me move from textbook German to real conversation.
Working with a native educator helped me understand not just vocabulary, but nuance — tone, expression, and the meaning behind certain phrases. It’s given me the confidence to participate in conversations with my family in a way I never could before.”
“Mother Tongue helped me move from textbook German to real conversation.
Reese Platt
Product Manager