Communicators and business leaders need to make sure their audiences see the whole picture of the story they are telling. Only addressing the areas that get the most attention can mean reputations are narrowed, as 1440’s Guy Corbet explains.
This week I spoke at the launch of the Online Dating and Discovery Association’s new Research Hub. The focus was on online dating, but it also touched on a broader question: how public debate shapes reputation.
Online dating is a good example. Much of the conversation is, quite rightly, about trust, safety and regulation. Those issues matter and deserve attention, but they are not the whole story.
Loneliness is becoming one of the defining challenges of modern life. The World Health Organisation has declared loneliness a “pressing global health threat“. Gen Z, the most digitally connected generation, is also the loneliest. Loneliness has real health consequences, and rising healthcare costs.
As the ways we meet people change, digital platforms are an increasingly important part of how relationships are formed and human connections are made.
This pattern is far from unique. Once one aspect of an issue comes to dominate public attention, it gradually becomes the whole story. Over time, that is what an organisation becomes known for.
That doesn’t mean difficult issues should be downplayed. Quite the opposite. They need to be addressed openly.
But good communications also has another job: to make sure the debate reflects the whole picture, not just the loudest part of it.
Perhaps that’s one way of thinking about reputation. Reputation tends to reflect the issues that receive the most attention. If attention narrows, reputation often narrows with it. Reputation follows attention.
Commercial decisions, and good public policy, depend on seeing the whole picture. One of the most valuable things communicators can do is help make sure that picture is complete.