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audiences respond to defensiveness and euphemism far more negatively than they respond to an admission of fault. If people already know something went wrong, telling them it didn't, or that it wasn't that serious, doesn't reassure them. It irritates them.

A step-by-step guide to preparing police, council or public sector spokespeople for difficult media interviews, written from the journalist's side of the table.

Most people working in communications are trying to do the right thing. They want to steady the situation, reduce harm, and keep trust intact. But "strategic comms" can slide into defensiveness easily, and the response can end up sounding more like protecting credibility than listening.

When a campaign lands badly, the instinct is to ask who signed it off. The real answer says more about how approval systems work than about any one person's judgement.

Everyone nods at the idea that change is the only constant. It is one of those lines we all agree with and then promptly ignore, because while we believe it in the abstract, we tend to run our communications as if change is an occasional event.

A housing association posted recently about the work it had done for tenants during the heatwave, and the work itself was genuinely good. In the same list they reminded contractors to follow guidance...

People are very good at answering the question in front of them, and not nearly as good at telling you what they actually need. This is not a flaw in your residents or your service users. It is simply how human beings work.

Who to choose to be your brands media spokespeople.

As search behaviour continues to evolve, organisations can no longer rely solely on traditional SEO tactics to maintain visibility and influence online.

This article explores seven of the most common communication mistakes local authorities make and offers practical solutions that communications teams can implement immediately.

This guide explores practical ways to build public trust through communications and highlights actions organisations can implement immediately.

Charles III doesn’t just deliver the speech, he seems to enjoy the act of delivering it.

How we’re helping the National Police Association win on LinkedIn by designing for what people say.

There is a familiar instinct at the heart of most public debates, that if we present better facts, clearer evidence, and a more rigorous argument, people will change their minds and come to our way of thinking. It's wrong.

Research hasn’t necessarily replaced judgement, but it seems to be replacing responsibility.

I would like to stop hearing the exact same phrase dished out to every question a journalist asks from multiple interviewees.

Human behaviour hasn’t changed nearly as much as our strategies assume. This creates a fundamental mismatch between how organisations communicate and how people actually receive our communications.

For years, we’ve treated communications as a desk job. Writing statements. Monitoring channels. Managing approvals. Reacting to headlines. Producing content at speed, often at arm’s length from what we’re supposed to be explaining and off the back of SLT requests. It’s efficient because it’s measurable – you always know where they are. Increasingly, it’s a massive problem.

You don’t need to find your story. You already have one. And it is every campaign you’ve run, client you’ve helped, the challenges you’ve solved for customers.

Why trusting your communications team to consider all outcomes is the key to great comms.