Change Communications
Helping programmes succeed
I help change leaders build genuine connections with their people – because successful change happens when employees feel heard, understood, and respected. This requires more than just delivering messages; it calls for emotional intelligence, which enables meaningful dialogue and trust.
A critical, but often overlooked role of communication in change programmes is to create psychological safety. When people feel safe, they’re more open to change, more willing to contribute, and better equipped to navigate uncertainty. Without this foundation, even the best change initiatives can falter.
Your communications will be more powerful, the more authentic you can be.
This means:
Speaking with clarity – saying what you mean clearly, without hiding behind jargon or 'management speak'.
Listening with presence – being fully engaged in conversations, not just waiting for your turn to talk.
Expressing vulnerability – acknowledging uncertainty, emotions, and challenges instead of needing to know all the answers.
Encouraging dialogue – creating safe spaces for real exchange rather than relying on one-way communication.
Reinforcing integrity – ensuring what you do matches what you say.
Ten questions for change leaders
I invite leaders of change and transformation programmes to answer these ten essential questions when considering how to communicate more authentically:
Who is your audience?
Why does this change matter to them?
What do they need?
What outcome do you want?
How will you ensure what you say is clear and real?
How will you adapt your message for different audiences?
What channels will you use?
How will you invite dialogue?
What timing will have the biggest impact?
How will you measure the success?
I invite leaders of change and transformation programmes to answer these ten essential questions when considering how to communicate more authentically:
Who is your audience?
Why does this change matter to them?
What do they need?
What outcome do you want?
How will you ensure what you say is clear and real?
How will you adapt your message for different audiences?
What channels will you use?
How will you invite dialogue?
What timing will have the biggest impact?
How will you measure the success?
The power of persuasion
Behind all effective communication is persuasion. The three rhetorical appeals that Aristotle described in the 4th century BCE are just as relevant today.
Ethos - the appeal to credibility
This is grounded in the speaker’s trustworthiness, authority, and expertise. It is shaped by the way they communicate, and the respect they show to those they are addressing.
Pathos - the appeal to emotion
This involves the speaker engaging people at a heart level. It requires empathy – the speaker’s felt understanding of the values and beliefs of their audience.
Logos - the appeal to reason
This focuses on the content of an argument and its organisation. It relies on forming meaningful connections between facts, and supporting claims through evidence.
I always try to work in the middle of this diagram ->
I find that relying solely on reason (logos) can feel cold and unconvincing. A message driven purely by emotion (pathos) can lack authority. And credibility alone (ethos) is meaningless without emotional connection or evidence.
In change programmes there is often too little emphasis on heartfelt connection and earning people’s trust, and too much reliance on asserting facts.
The role of storytelling
Whenever I need to communicate something important, I try to turn it into a story. So, here’s a story about storytelling:
In the early days of Amazon, Jeff Bezos banned PowerPoint presentations. Instead, he required teams to present new ideas and strategic recommendations through a six-page narrative memo – about 1,500 words.
Meetings would begin with everyone reading the memo together, followed by a discussion.
Bezos explained: “There is no way you can write a six-page narratively structured memo and not have clear thinking. PowerPoint is easy for the presenter, but not for the audience.
Storytelling takes more effort, but it transforms communication from something people read or hear into something they feel and remember.
This is especially important in change communications, where bulleted PowerPoint slides can leave people feeling cold and disengaged.
Whenever I need to communicate something important, I try to turn it into a story. So, here’s a story about storytelling:
In the early days of Amazon, Jeff Bezos banned PowerPoint presentations. Instead, he required teams to present new ideas and strategic recommendations through a six-page narrative memo – about 1,500 words.
Meetings would begin with everyone reading the memo together, followed by a discussion.
Bezos explained: “There is no way you can write a six-page narratively structured memo and not have clear thinking. PowerPoint is easy for the presenter, but not for the audience.
Storytelling takes more effort, but it transforms communication from something people read or hear into something they feel and remember.
This is especially important in change communications, where bulleted PowerPoint slides can leave people feeling cold and disengaged.
Five essential delivery channels
All-hands meetings / Town halls (in-person or virtual)
Team briefings (cascaded through leadership)
Workshops and focus groups
One-to-one conversations (with key stakeholders)
Roadshows and site visits
Leadership Q&A sessions
Peer-to-peer discussions
Ambassador networks
Company intranet (news articles, blogs, discussion forums)
Enterprise social networks (e.g. Microsoft Teams, Slack, Yammer)
Emails and newsletters (targeted updates)
Internal podcasts (leaders/employees sharing insights)
Webinars and virtual roundtables
Pre-recorded video messages (from leadership or employees)
Interactive microsites (for major change programmes)
Chatbots and AI-powered FAQs
Collaborative and feedback channels
Pulse surveys and employee listening tools
Open forums and ‘Ask Me Anything’ sessions
Crowdsourcing platforms and idea hubs (allow employees to contribute ideas, vote on suggestions, and collaborate)
Internal blogs and vlogs (with commenting features)
Live polls and interactive Q&A during events
Posters and digital signage (in offices, factories, common areas)
Printed newsletters and magazines (for deskless workers)
Desk drops and postcards (for targeted messaging)
Branded merchandise (reinforcing key messages)
eLearning modules and microlearning
Peer-led coaching and mentoring sessions
Simulation exercises and role-playing scenarios
Playbooks and toolkits for managers
Pulse surveys and employee listening tools
Open forums and ‘Ask Me Anything’ sessions
Crowdsourcing platforms and idea hubs (allow employees to contribute ideas, vote on suggestions, and collaborate)
Internal blogs and vlogs (with commenting features)
Live polls and interactive Q&A during events
Using multiple channels usually ensures the greatest impact – the key is to choose the right combination for your audience and objectives. And it’s always preferable to use a client’s existing channels rather than create new ones.
The blank section in the diagram represents all the informal communication that's happening all the time. You can influence it – but you can’t control it.
All-hands meetings / Town halls (in-person or virtual)
Team briefings (cascaded through leadership)
Workshops and focus groups
One-to-one conversations (with key stakeholders)
Roadshows and site visits
Leadership Q&A sessions
Peer-to-peer discussions
Ambassador networks
Company intranet (news articles, blogs, discussion forums)
Enterprise social networks (e.g. Microsoft Teams, Slack, Yammer)
Emails and newsletters (targeted updates)
Internal podcasts (leaders/employees sharing insights)
Webinars and virtual roundtables
Pre-recorded video messages (from leadership or employees)
Interactive microsites (for major change programmes)
Chatbots and AI-powered FAQs
Collaborative and feedback channels
Pulse surveys and employee listening tools
Open forums and ‘Ask Me Anything’ sessions
Crowdsourcing platforms and idea hubs (allow employees to contribute ideas, vote on suggestions, and collaborate)
Internal blogs and vlogs (with commenting features)
Live polls and interactive Q&A during events
Posters and digital signage (in offices, factories, common areas)
Printed newsletters and magazines (for deskless workers)
Desk drops and postcards (for targeted messaging)
Branded merchandise (reinforcing key messages)
eLearning modules and microlearning
Peer-led coaching and mentoring sessions
Simulation exercises and role-playing scenarios
Playbooks and toolkits for managers
Pulse surveys and employee listening tools
Open forums and ‘Ask Me Anything’ sessions
Crowdsourcing platforms and idea hubs (allow employees to contribute ideas, vote on suggestions, and collaborate)
Internal blogs and vlogs (with commenting features)
Live polls and interactive Q&A during events
Using multiple channels usually ensures the greatest impact – the key is to choose the right combination for your audience and objectives. And it’s always preferable to use a client’s existing channels rather than create new ones.
The blank section in the diagram represents all the informal communication that's happening all the time. You can influence it – but you can’t control it.
My personal style guide for business writing
I love Philip Collins’s book To Be Clear. I give it to potential clients and ask them to read the first 49 pages. If they don’t like it, I’m hesitant to work with them.
Clear communication starts with clear thinking. And clear thinking requires research, discussion and consultation with experts. In change programmes, those experts include employees impacted by the change – the people closest to the issues, whose wisdom needs to be heard.
Collins argues that business leaders need to stop using ‘management speak’, and have the courage to be clear – to use language that’s as plain as possible – so people can easily understand what they’re saying.
People always feel worried about change. When we experience more anxiety than we can tolerate, neuroscience tells us that we quickly lose our ability to think clearly. In change programmes, business jargon can often increase anxiety, and create confusion rather than engagement.
I love Philip Collins’s book To Be Clear. I give it to potential clients and ask them to read the first 49 pages. If they don’t like it, I’m hesitant to work with them.
Clear communication starts with clear thinking. And clear thinking requires research, discussion and consultation with experts. In change programmes, those experts include employees impacted by the change – the people closest to the issues, whose wisdom needs to be heard.
Collins argues that business leaders need to stop using ‘management speak’, and have the courage to be clear – to use language that’s as plain as possible – so people can easily understand what they’re saying.
People always feel worried about change. When we experience more anxiety than we can tolerate, neuroscience tells us that we quickly lose our ability to think clearly. In change programmes, business jargon can often increase anxiety, and create confusion rather than engagement.
Good design: Simple, but no simpler
We live in a world where overcomplicated, cluttered PowerPoints dominate. At the same time bulleted lists are often over simplified.
Where’s the balance?
Milton Glaser, the legendary graphic designer behind 'I love NY', had a philosophy:
Just enough is more.
Instead of stripping everything away, Glaser believed in including only what’s necessary – achieving maximum impact with just the right amount of information.
This is always my aim too..
We live in a world where overcomplicated, cluttered PowerPoints dominate. At the same time bulleted lists are often over simplified.
Where’s the balance?
Milton Glaser, the legendary graphic designer behind 'I love NY', had a philosophy:
Just enough is more.
Instead of stripping everything away, Glaser believed in including only what’s necessary – achieving maximum impact with just the right amount of information.
This is always my aim too..
