Say Less. Be Heard More.
How to communicate change that's understood, even in noisy and distracted environments.
You’ve crafted the message. Delivered the update. Presented the vision with stories, data, and passion.
And still, a few weeks later, someone asks: “Wait… are we really doing that?”
You wonder: Didn’t we present this?
The answer is yes. You said it. The audience was there. They just didn’t hear it.
Welcome to the illusion of communication.
The problem with missed communications
When it comes to a change programme, communication isn’t about what you say. It’s about what people perceive, remember, and understand. You may say this applies to any communication, but even more so in change because of the added element of uncertainty and the expectation that people may need to change their habits and behaviours.
In fast-moving organisations, noise is constant. Priorities shift. Emails multiply. People skim-read. The reality is that leaders assume understanding, and teams nod along, even when they’re unsure.
The result? Confusion, misalignment, and friction.
And the effects are considerable:
Decisions are delayed
Energy drains from the initiative
Frontline teams feel left out
Change doesn’t fail because of the strategy or delivery. It fails because the message didn’t land.
The change that got lost in translation
In one project, the executive team spent months designing a transformation plan. They held a company-wide town hall to launch it, full of ambition, clarity, and great visuals.
But two weeks later, in a team workshop, I asked what the change was about.
The answers varied wildly:
“Isn’t it about restructuring the teams?”
“It’s a new IT system, right?”
“Something to do with cost savings?”
“I think our department isn’t affected.”
They’d heard the words. But the message hadn’t stuck. It was clear in the minds of the leadership team but blurry for everybody else.
Three reasons why message don't land
1. Filtering
We all filter information based on how it fits with our understanding of the context and experiences. Moreover, every layer of the organisation acts as an additional filter. Line managers reinterpret messages. Colleagues paraphrase. The message is reshaped with every step.
2. Competing Priorities
Your initiative is one of ten things people are hearing about that day. They are all presented as critical. Urgent wins over important, especially when change is communicated once and then left to fade. However, it is often overlooked by busy people.
3. Cognitive Overload
In times of change, people are emotionally and mentally saturated. They don’t process new information the same way. If your message isn’t anchored and repeated, it disappears.
How to make your message heard
1. Say less, repeat more
Most leaders say too much, once only. One presentation or written communication with all the content. Instead, they should give the one key message and repeat it. Identify the top 3–5 messages that matter. Then, repeat them consistently across channels, formats, and leaders.
Repetition doesn’t mean dull. It means reinforcement.
2. Test understanding, not rely on delivery
Don’t measure progress by completing the action of sending an email. Instead, ask, “What have people understood after reading it?” and “What are people thinking? Feeling and doing after reading it?”
Use pulse checks, informal conversations, or observations to gauge how well the message is landing. Treat communication like a product: test and modify.
3. Cascade, don’t broadcast
Change communication works best through trusted relationships. Equip middle managers with toolkits, answers, stories and the skills to deliver messages in a compelling way. Don’t expect one town hall to complete your communication actions. Managers are your message multipliers.
4. Design for noise
Assume your audience is distracted, sceptical, and overloaded. Keep messages short, clear, and emotionally resonant. Use visuals and stories, and adapt to people's learning styles. Make the essential things impossible to miss.
Leaders often mistake activity for impact. A slick slide deck, an all-hands meeting, and a catchy slogan feel like communication.
But real communication happens when people can explain the message to someone else. When they connect it to their role. When they start to shift what they do.
To summarise this article in two lines of advice.
Ask yourself: What do I want people to remember three weeks from now?
Then say that one thing. Simply, consistently, and often.
Let me know how this has improved your approach to communicate change.