Without a solid understanding of our audience and regular reminders of their likes, dislikes, and problems; we can easily miss the mark with content. Enter the tool called a persona. At every UX-related job, I was in some way involved in creating personas. Yet this key tool in the UX playbook often sits unused on our virtual shelves or becomes out-of-date and ineffective. I will touch on how to quickly create brand new personas, update existing ones, and (most importantly) how to regularly use them in projects and content creation. Key tools & tips will include helpful data sources, determining the right data points, using empathy maps, validation techniques, and creating processes to integrate persona insights.