A Before / After Moment

Most communication breakdowns don’t happen because leaders say the wrong thing. It's a disconnect between the story they were already telling themselves and the one they’re asked to accept afterward.

That gap, the space between before and after, is where trust either strengthens or quietly erodes.

Team Uncertainty Before the Announcement

The Story People Are Already Telling

Before an announcement ever happens, people are already narrating. They notice calendar changes, shifts in tone, who is pulled into meetings and who isn’t. They read pauses as much as words. 

In the absence of information, they create meaning.

That internal story often sounds like uncertainty: 

“Something is coming.”

“I don’t know how this affects me”.

“I’m not sure leadership is aligned.”

Whether we intend to or not, that story sets expectations long before anyone speaks.

The Story That Lingers After

After the moment passes, a new story takes over. This one is shaped not just by what was said, but by what was clarified and what remained unresolved. People leave thinking, "this makes sense now," or "I still feel uneasy," or "I trust how this was handled." 

That after-story is the one that lingers and shapes behavior.

Where Leaders Lose the Thread

Most leaders put their energy into the announcement itself. They rehearse the message, refine the language, and anticipate questions. What often gets missed is the transition between those two internal stories. How are people supposed to move from what they believed before to what you want them to believe now?

That bridge rarely builds itself.

A Real Example of the Gap

I saw this play out clearly during a reduction in force at a nonprofit After the layoffs, the CEO planned a town hall with the full organization. His goal was simple and well intentioned; he wanted people to feel safe so they could move forward with the work.

The challenge was that this wasn’t the first reduction. It was the third in two years.

By the time we were planning that town hall, people already had a before-story. They weren’t waiting to hear whether another reduction might come, they were assuming it would. Any attempt to simply reassure them would have felt disconnected from their lived experience.

I told the CEO, safety wasn’t something we could declare. We had to earn it by acknowledging what people were already carrying. That meant explaining why we were here, how we got to this point, and what needed to change to avoid repeating the same cycle. Without that context, people would do what they always do in uncertainty. They would create their own narratives which would likely be worse than the truth.

We shifted the message. Instead of focusing on reassurance alone, we focused on clarity. We named the reality of the moment, shared the reasons behind the decision, and outlined what the organization needed to do differently going forward.

People still had fear about the future, that didn’t disappear, but many left with a shared understanding of the situation and a clearer sense of what forward actually looked like. The after-story wasn’t comfort, it was context, and that made a difference to many employees.

Designing the Bridge on Purpose

One of the simplest ways to see the gap is to pause before you communicate and name it directly. What story are people likely telling themselves right now?

What story do you want them telling once this is over?

When those two narratives don’t connect, people feel it immediately, even if they can’t articulate why.

Why Continuity Matters

This isn’t about controlling emotion or scripting reactions. It’s about acknowledging context. Strong communication doesn’t erase concern, it gives it shape. It says, I know where you are, and here’s where we’re going. 

When people can locate themselves in the story, they stop guessing. When they stop guessing, alignment becomes possible.

This is also where personal reflection matters. Think about a moment that landed better than expected, or one that technically succeeded but left residue behind. What story did people walk in with? What story did they leave with? What shifted, and what stayed unresolved?

Those answers often matter more than the outcome itself.

When leaders pay attention to before and after, communication becomes steadier and more humane. It respects the fact that people don’t reset the moment a meeting ends, they carry meaning forward.

People don’t need perfect messaging. They need continuity.

If you’re preparing for a moment where expectations are already forming, I’m always open to a conversation. Sometimes the most important work happens before the message is delivered.