Human-centred communication – let’s start having meaningful conversations again
Whatever you feel about the ‘dark arts’, there’s always room to bring in a bit more lightness. Let's ruminate on the future of the communications profession and how we can inject a healthy dose of empathy into our work.
Published 30 June 2022 / Kassy Hayden
Moving out of journalism and taking a new job in PR, you’ll likely hear your fellow hacks jest that it’s a move to the dark side. What they mean, of course, is that you’ll surely stop searching for the truth and learn to obscure it.
This kind of attitude has long raised the hackles of people in the profession, whose careers are often built on ethics. The dark arts of PR do exist, but we rarely see these on display in the corporate offices of communications teams. People like us often get into a career in comms because we have an innate understanding of what makes humans tick, and we want to do something that makes a difference.
Big question though – is the field of communications really fulfilling that need?
The world is changing and the dark arts are being used far more than they should in the digital world, with big data as its greatest weapon. Political campaigns are won and lost in these tribal digital wars, disinformation is reaching into our homes, and algorithms are telling us who to watch, what to listen to, and crucially, what’s important.
Polarisation of the people is happening all around us too. Trolling and verbal violence is commonplace online, and this is flowing out of screens and onto the street. With the threat of climate change and covid locking in its talons for the long haul, the stakes have never been higher.
What do you all think? Is it possible to bring people back from the edges, and actually have a conversation about some real stuff that matters?
We reckon it’s time to elevate empathy in communications practice. It’s been done in design departments, product development, customer service and UX. Why not humble comms?
Practitioners already do this to an extent, but it needs to be embedded into our methodologies in a robust and scientific way. It would mean taking a long hard look at ourselves and what we bring to the table. It would mean unpicking our biases and reflecting on how they play out in the stories we tell. It would mean abandoning the one-way broadcast model for good and really tuning in and listening to people’s needs. It would mean bringing in the best of social science, neuroscience and research methods and applying them to our everyday practice.
We’d need to focus on genuine relationships, leaning into our interpersonal skills and spidey-sensibility. We’d be challenged to see the individual in our lists of target audiences or stakeholders. We’d recognise that vulnerability is not a weakness but a strength. We’d open our hearts and minds to people with different values to ours. Julia Anderson and I call this way of working human-centred communications. To explain it simplistically, we sometimes compare it to other branches of the profession. If marketing is selling a dream, social marketing is selling a truth, and communications is about telling a clear message – then human-centred communications should be about finding shared truths. Shared truths are vital to human cooperation and building trust, but we seem to have so few of these in today’s world where just having a strong opinion is currency. Having empathy doesn’t mean being a bleeding heart. There is universal respect and there are boundaries. Being human-centred in communications practice means considering our own needs as well as those of our staff, and the people we work with. No one is left behind.
There are lots of incredible leaders and organisations that integrate this way of working – but we haven’t yet seen a strong movement to integrate these ideas into the field of communications.
In Aotearoa, te ao Māori – the Māori worldview – can lead the way. From our indigenous people, we can learn about kotahitanga (unity), manaakitanga (care) and atawhaitanga (compassion), and collectively commit to raising everyone up with us.
In the media recently, there have been some great examples of human-centred communication. Pillars, a charity who works with children of prisoners, called out the rhetoric about getting tough on crime, saying that we need “blankets not bollards” if we’re to really address the systemic issues that lead to offending. General Manager Maxine Gay told Stuff that the current stance “makes people more fearful of getting help because they feel ashamed and stigmatised.” We tautoko that.
We’d also like to single out Cardrona and Treble Cone for their self-awareness and commitment to trying something new. Did you see their campaign All In, which is about getting more women into snow sports? They embarked on the campaign after looking inwards and realising their social media barely featured women being active on the snow, and reflecting on how female skiers and boarders were told to ride like men. Then they did something about it and issued a challenge for the rest of the industry to follow them. Shredding it.
I was so moved by the news that Justice Tā Joe Williams had laid down a wero to the public sector, calling for true partnership in Crown-Maori relations. Not the tick-box consultation or usual brand of engagement – but proper partnership, the kind where you sit down and listen to each other and be prepared to face the unknown.
He said: “The hope is: the Treaty and partnerships liberate us from this one-sided straitjacket from the past and by us, I’m not just talking about Māori – it liberates us all from that one-sided straitjacket of the past and frees us to imagine anew, unfenced in.”
Being truly empathetic takes courage, but the reward is worth it.
This kind of attitude has long raised the hackles of people in the profession, whose careers are often built on ethics. The dark arts of PR do exist, but we rarely see these on display in the corporate offices of communications teams. People like us often get into a career in comms because we have an innate understanding of what makes humans tick, and we want to do something that makes a difference.
Big question though – is the field of communications really fulfilling that need?
The world is changing and the dark arts are being used far more than they should in the digital world, with big data as its greatest weapon. Political campaigns are won and lost in these tribal digital wars, disinformation is reaching into our homes, and algorithms are telling us who to watch, what to listen to, and crucially, what’s important.
Polarisation of the people is happening all around us too. Trolling and verbal violence is commonplace online, and this is flowing out of screens and onto the street. With the threat of climate change and covid locking in its talons for the long haul, the stakes have never been higher.
What do you all think? Is it possible to bring people back from the edges, and actually have a conversation about some real stuff that matters?
We reckon it’s time to elevate empathy in communications practice. It’s been done in design departments, product development, customer service and UX. Why not humble comms?
Practitioners already do this to an extent, but it needs to be embedded into our methodologies in a robust and scientific way. It would mean taking a long hard look at ourselves and what we bring to the table. It would mean unpicking our biases and reflecting on how they play out in the stories we tell. It would mean abandoning the one-way broadcast model for good and really tuning in and listening to people’s needs. It would mean bringing in the best of social science, neuroscience and research methods and applying them to our everyday practice.
We’d need to focus on genuine relationships, leaning into our interpersonal skills and spidey-sensibility. We’d be challenged to see the individual in our lists of target audiences or stakeholders. We’d recognise that vulnerability is not a weakness but a strength. We’d open our hearts and minds to people with different values to ours. Julia Anderson and I call this way of working human-centred communications. To explain it simplistically, we sometimes compare it to other branches of the profession. If marketing is selling a dream, social marketing is selling a truth, and communications is about telling a clear message – then human-centred communications should be about finding shared truths. Shared truths are vital to human cooperation and building trust, but we seem to have so few of these in today’s world where just having a strong opinion is currency. Having empathy doesn’t mean being a bleeding heart. There is universal respect and there are boundaries. Being human-centred in communications practice means considering our own needs as well as those of our staff, and the people we work with. No one is left behind.
There are lots of incredible leaders and organisations that integrate this way of working – but we haven’t yet seen a strong movement to integrate these ideas into the field of communications.
In Aotearoa, te ao Māori – the Māori worldview – can lead the way. From our indigenous people, we can learn about kotahitanga (unity), manaakitanga (care) and atawhaitanga (compassion), and collectively commit to raising everyone up with us.
In the media recently, there have been some great examples of human-centred communication. Pillars, a charity who works with children of prisoners, called out the rhetoric about getting tough on crime, saying that we need “blankets not bollards” if we’re to really address the systemic issues that lead to offending. General Manager Maxine Gay told Stuff that the current stance “makes people more fearful of getting help because they feel ashamed and stigmatised.” We tautoko that.
We’d also like to single out Cardrona and Treble Cone for their self-awareness and commitment to trying something new. Did you see their campaign All In, which is about getting more women into snow sports? They embarked on the campaign after looking inwards and realising their social media barely featured women being active on the snow, and reflecting on how female skiers and boarders were told to ride like men. Then they did something about it and issued a challenge for the rest of the industry to follow them. Shredding it.
I was so moved by the news that Justice Tā Joe Williams had laid down a wero to the public sector, calling for true partnership in Crown-Maori relations. Not the tick-box consultation or usual brand of engagement – but proper partnership, the kind where you sit down and listen to each other and be prepared to face the unknown.
He said: “The hope is: the Treaty and partnerships liberate us from this one-sided straitjacket from the past and by us, I’m not just talking about Māori – it liberates us all from that one-sided straitjacket of the past and frees us to imagine anew, unfenced in.”
Being truly empathetic takes courage, but the reward is worth it.
We’d love to hear your examples of communicating in a more compassionate and human-centred way. Drop a comment below or email us on hello@mitra.nz to be part of a greater conversation.