When Communication Carries Consequence

Words are never neutral.

During my Master’s degree, my Professional Research Project explored how institutional language can either engage or quietly disengage audiences — particularly in conversations about diversity and inclusion.

At its core, the research examined how language can legitimise certain perspectives while marginalising others, often unintentionally.

That insight has stayed with me.

Because what I studied in theory, I now see in practice across organisations navigating complexity and change.

When pressure rises, leaders often reach for messaging before they have understood meaning.

Strategy Before Messaging

In moments of reputational risk or organisational change, there is an instinct to “get something out.”

A draft statement.
A key message.
A carefully worded update.

But communication is not what you say first.

It is:

• What you have understood

• What you have prioritised

• What assumptions sit beneath your language

• And how your audience will interpret it

Too often, messaging is created before organisations have paused to ask:

• Who is this really for?

• How do we want them to feel?

• What change are we asking them to make?

• What context are they bringing that we are not?

Communication is not information transfer.

It is an attempt to influence perception and behaviour.

Without clarity of intent, words simply add noise.

Language and Power

When I think about language, I think about power.

Brené Brown’s podcast discussions on power often come to the forefront of my mind — particularly the distinctions between power to, power with, and power over.

Communication has the power to give power.
It can also wield power over, often unintentionally.

This applies when organisations are planning communications in pivotal moments.

Language can:

• Centre certain experiences

• Marginalise others

• Signal authority

• Or undermine trust

When language assumes shared meaning, it can quietly exclude.

When language is vague, it can feel evasive.

When language is overly technical, it can create distance.

Words do not simply describe reality.
They shape it.

The Discipline of Curiosity

As a corporate communicator, curiosity is critical.

I remember sitting around a table with a group of firm leaders drafting a communications plan. Our draft included the words: “We’d love to work with you.”

We paused.

Love is not a word you hear often in corporate messaging.

We let it hang in the air.

Was it too soft? Too informal? Too exposed?

Ultimately, we confirmed it belonged in the messaging.

Because we did love working with our clients.
We loved the work they brought in.

Just because others in the industry didn’t articulate it didn’t make it untrue.

Saying the things others feel too shy to say often creates differentiation, and impact.

Language carries risk.

But it also carries authenticity.

Learning to Notice

One of the most important lessons from studying language is this:

We can always learn more about how our words land.

There are terms I once used without question that I no longer use — phrases like “motherhood statement” or “tribe.”

Not because they were malicious.

But because language evolves.

Context matters.

And words carry histories we may not see from within our own perspective.

Strategic communication requires humility.

It requires curiosity.

And it requires restraint.

Clarity Is Leadership

Clarity is not simplification.

It is discipline.

It requires slowing down long enough to understand consequence before expression.

In high-stakes environments, words become permanent artefacts.

They are quoted.
Reinterpreted.
Remembered.

When communication carries consequence, leadership is demonstrated through discernment.

A good story deserves a good strategy.

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