There is no more valuable skill - particularly in the attention economy we live in — than the ability to effectively communicate on the public stage. This means having the right story, or message, and then delivering it to your intended audience through numerous media and advertising channels. The question along the way is are you connecting with your audience, whether customers, voters, thought leaders, investors.  Are they taking the action you want them to take?

Any number of leaders – Barack Obama, NYU Stern Business School professor Scott Galloway, former Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi, and Stacey Abrams have heralded the power of savvy communications to move a mission–or in the case of Chris Anderson, the former head of TED, an idea– forward. 

Communications—meaning how your frame arguments, the words and messengers used, the tone, repetition—is not some sidecar nice-to-have for promotional purposes. You can’t overinvest in strategic communications. 

The human brain is wired to listen to and retain stories–not facts and stats. “A great story is true,” says marketing maven Seth Godin. “Not necessarily because it’s factual, but because it’s consistent and authentic.”

Getting people’s attention and persuading them is the currency. The fundamentals of effective communication have not changed in 2,000 years. Aristotle’s formula for the strongest arguments was a credible speaker (ethos) telling a moving story (pathos) and backing it up with evidence (logos).

What has changed, of course, are the methods of information delivery from pamphlets, political sermons, newspapers to eventually radio and TV, YouTube, and TikTok. But the brute force of a simple, memorable, and emotionally compelling story, appropriately packaged for specific media platforms, is more powerful than ever.  

Sally Susman is executive vice president at Pfizer. Her charge at the beginning of the pandemic was to persuade people to take a new vaccine and quickly. Her book details how Pfizer broke through to the public and it was by, she said, ripping up the original playbook of data and experts. “I was wrong. It’s stories. I got to see my grandson at his wedding. Real stories, real people.”

It’s more difficult to develop a story than simply reciting facts and stats or dumping data in the public arena and walking away. Taking the time to communicate an idea the right way the first time and take people on a journey–meeting them where they are not where you think they should be– is worth the time and financial investment.