One of the most common communication mistakes I see organizations make is crafting external messages that are all about the “head”, and totally forget the “heart.”
Below is part of a slide I show during presentation and community engagement training sessions. It summarizes a UCLA study that speaks to why what you say will always be overshadowed by how you say it.
Consider interviewing someone for a job. The candidate might run through their résumé, rattle off a long list of technical accomplishments, and share stories where they played the hero. It’s impressive to an extent. Sure they’re smart, but can you picture actually working with this person? Facts help answer questions and paint some of the picture, but on their own they leave an incomplete picture, and I’d argue it leaves out the most important elements of all.
The job interviews that stand out for me are the ones where you actually connect with the candidate on some level. It feels more like an interesting conversation than a one-sided hire-me pitch. You get a sense of who they really are and what they believe, not just what they’ve done. That’s when a connection starts and trust begins to build.
Effective external communication follows the same principles, whether directed to communities, media, or your own employees. Of course facts and data matter. Nobody wants to hear marketing fluff with nothing to back it up. And citing hard data is essential to avoiding greenwashing risks. But facts alone don’t change minds or inspire people to act. That comes from tone and transparency, and delivering your story in a human-friendly manner.
In other words: don’t just aim to say the right things. Aim to also sound like someone worth listening to.
