I’ve come to believe that this misunderstanding lies at the heart of almost every communications challenge organizations face.
We assume that if we’ve described ourselves clearly, people will understand us. But they won’t. Because description and understanding are two very different things.
Description answers obvious questions. What do we do? What do we offer? How long have we been around? Who have we worked with? What have we accomplished?
Those questions matter. They establish facts. But facts rarely answer the bottom-line question.
Why does this matter? Every meaningful decision begins there.
A prospective donor isn’t simply asking what your organization does. They’re deciding whether your work deserves their investment.
A prospective board member is deciding whether this is an institution worthy of their time, reputation, and commitment.
A prospective client isn’t comparing lists of services. They’re deciding whether you’re the right person to trust with an important problem.
Those are very different decisions. And they aren’t driven by information alone. They’re driven by meaning.
That’s why two organizations doing equally important work can receive very different levels of attention, support, and recognition. One has described itself. The other has made a compelling case for why its work matters.
The same is true for individuals. I’ve read bios that chronicle remarkable careers yet leave me with surprisingly little sense of why I should remember the person herself.
I’ve looked at websites that explain everything an organization does while never answering the question that would persuade me to donate, enroll, partner, or become involved.
The problem isn’t a lack of information. It’s the assumption that information naturally becomes understanding.
It doesn’t. Understanding has to be built.
It comes from helping people see significance, not simply activity. It comes from explaining not only what you do, but why your work is distinctive, why it matters now, and why it deserves a place in someone’s already crowded field of attention.
That’s the difference between description and understanding.
And I suspect that’s the conundrum so many of us have to come to terms with.
