Behavioral change in communication: specialism or the foundation?
Behavior change sounds like something for specialists. A complicated field, reserved for ministries (trust us, that’s really not the case) and researchers with years to spare.
But behavior isn’t a complicated specialism. Behavior is always the foundation of communication.
Behind every message lies the same question: what should someone do differently because of this? What’s holding them back right now, and how can my story or message help move that forward?
It’s not about whether a story sounds good, but whether it actually moves something. And so behavior change isn’t an extra layer on top of communication. It’s the point of it.
That sounds obvious. But most communication is still built around broadcasting: a clear message, nicely packaged, sent out to your target audiences. And then hoping people do what you’re hoping they’ll do.
That rarely works. Knowing is not (always) the same as doing. And in doing, in behavior, lies the difference between communication that sounds good and communication that actually moves something.
Getting to know your target audience, inside and out
The question stays the same, regardless of the challenge. What do you want people to do? Communication always comes down to people needing to do something different than they’re doing now. And the key lies in understanding what’s holding them back.
That’s why we never start with the message. We start with research: where does the resistance sit, the doubt, the habit standing in the way of change? Those insights determine what you communicate. Not the other way around.
Internal communication
A town hall meeting, a newsletter, an intranet page with the new core values. All aimed at conveying knowledge. But movement only happens once employees start acting differently, day to day.
Behavior change is the foundation for internal communication. Read more →
Strong Positioning
A story that checks out on paper doesn’t necessarily do anything in practice. It can be factually correct and still fail to give real direction to the choices people make every day.
Behavior change is the foundation for strong positioning. Read more →
Societal Impact
Public communication often leans on information and explanation. But it’s precisely with societal issues that the gap between knowing and doing is widest.
Behavior change is the foundation for societal impact. Read more →
