Change Communications vs. Regular Communications: Why They’re NOT the Same Thing

After 20+ years of working with companies to manage change (and yes, all the drama that comes with it), I can confidently say one thing is absolutely true: how you communicate change can make or break your entire effort. There’s a huge difference between your everyday communications and what we call “change communications”—and if you’re not aware of the distinct difference, your change initiative will likely go up in flames faster than you can say "resistance."

So, here’s why if you're involved in leading or supporting any type of change you need to know the difference between these two types of communication.

Is there really a difference?

Yes! Change communications is all about managing people through a transition. Whether you’re rolling out innovative new software, reorganizing the team, or pivoting your entire business strategy, people don’t exactly love change. It makes them generally very uncomfortable, and that discomfort can lead to resistance. Your job (or mine, if you hire me) is to communicate in a way that helps them understand why the change is happening, why they should care, and—here’s the big one—how it impacts their daily life.

Change communications is built with a sole purpose in mind - to address the human side of things—all the feelings of uncertainty, fear, and sometimes anger. From the very beginning to the messy middle and all the way through the end even after everyone else wants to sign off because the project is considered "complete".

So then, what is regular communications?

Regular communications? That’s an organization's bread-and-butter, it's all the day-to-day business stuff. Think about all the different meetings, project, HR or financial updates, product and mission stories. These messages are meant to inform and keep people aligned to the company's overall mission, progress and values. They’re absolutely important, but they don’t need to soothe fears or inspire people to get on board with something brand new. 

Why this nuance is important

Okay, so why should you care? Because if you treat a big organizational change like it’s just another everyday announcement, you’re probably going to end up with a bunch of confused (and maybe even angry) people on your hands. Here’s why you need to approach them differently:

1. It’s About Managing Emotions
   Change communications is like therapy for your team (minus the couch). People don’t just need information—they need reassurance. Regular communications are straightforward; change communications? They’re basically emotional support. You’re calming fears and helping people move through uncertainty. Without it, you risk creating chaos.

2. Tailoring Your Message Matters
   With change communications, you can’t just blast out the same message to everyone. Leaders, front-line employees, and external stakeholders all have different concerns that need to be addressed. You need to craft messages that speak to their specific needs. In regular communications, you’re just giving info, but with change, you’re getting inside people’s heads to figure out what makes them tick and what they care most about.

3. Building Trust is Everything
   When people are uncertain about the future (aka during any change), they need to trust that leadership knows what they’re doing. Change communications helps to build that trust by being transparent, empathetic, and responsive. You’re not just talking at people; you’re engaging them in the process early and often. Regular communications? They don’t carry that same weight.

4. Change Success Depends on Communication
   I can’t say this enough: communication is make-or-break when it comes to change. If you think a one-size-fits-all, “we’re making changes, good luck!” email will do the job, think again. People will resist, rumors will fly, and your well-planned change will stall. I've seen it happen or worse yet, I've been brought in to clean up the damage which is always much harder than if you had done it right the first time. When you’re clear about the difference between change communications and regular updates, you set your team (and your change effort) up for success.

So, let me say this again.... change communications and regular communications are NOT the same thing. When you’re managing any kind of organizational shift, how you talk about it is everything. Regular updates are great for keeping the day-to-day going, but change communications are what guide people through the chaos of transition and all the messy things that goes along with it. Understand the difference, and you’ll not only keep your team engaged, but you’ll also make sure your change actually sticks.

If you need help getting those change communications right, well, you know where to find me.