“Can You Just Write Something?”: The Most Underrated Ask in Business

Today, I found myself doing two very different things at the same time. I was posting the

very first LinkedIn post for one client - the kind of post that quietly sets the tone for

everything that follows. At the same time, I was building a brand-new communications

strategy for another - the kind that requires stepping back, asking better questions, and

thinking several moves ahead.

Different tasks. Same realization.

Communications is wildly underrated.

Not because people don’t value words, but because they underestimate what words actually do.

This work goes far deeper than putting something on a page or filling space in a feed. The right

message, delivered with the right tone and backed by the right strategy, creates a feeling. And

that feeling is what people remember long after they’ve scrolled past the post or closed the

browser tab.

If you work in communications long enough, you start to notice how often the work is

oversimplified. “Can you just write something?” “It’s just a caption.” “We’ll know it when we see

it.” These phrases usually come from a good place, but they reveal a common misconception

that communications is about output, not impact.

Because if it were really just about words, everything that sounds correct would work. And we all

know that isn’t true.

We’ve all read messages that technically say the right thing but still fall flat. We’ve seen brands

that look polished but feel cold. We’ve heard statements that make sense, yet don’t stick. The

difference is rarely the grammar or the structure. It’s the absence of intention. Words without

strategy don’t connect. Words without tone don’t invite trust. Words without context don’t land.

Communications isn’t about what you say. It’s about what people feel after you say it.

The best communications doesn’t draw attention to itself. When it’s done well, it feels natural.

Easy. Obvious. And that’s exactly why it’s so often undervalued. Like good lighting in a room or

music in the background of a restaurant, you don’t notice it when it’s right, but you feel it

immediately when it’s wrong.

That invisibility is both the strength and the challenge of this work. When communications is

effective, people don’t stop to analyze it. They simply trust. They lean in. They stay engaged.

But when it misses the mark, the impact is loud. Confusion creeps in. Credibility erodes.

Momentum slows. Suddenly, everyone has opinions.

What’s rarely acknowledged is the strategy behind the moments that work. Knowing who you’re

talking to. Understanding what they need to hear and what they don’t. Choosing clarity over

cleverness. Matching tone to moment. Thinking beyond a single post to the larger narrative it

lives within. A LinkedIn caption isn’t just a caption. It’s a data point in how a brand shows up

over time. A message isn’t just information. It’s a signal.

Anyone can write words. Not everyone can write with intention.

And intention matters more than ever. We’re operating in crowded spaces with short attention

spans and low trust. People don’t want more noise, they want resonance. They want to feel

seen, understood, and invited into something that makes sense.

That’s the real work of communications. Not saying more, but saying the right thing, the right

way, at the right time.

So the next time someone says, “Can you just write something?” I hope we remember what’s

actually being asked. We’re not being asked to fill space. We’re being asked to shape how

people feel, what they trust, and whether they come back for more.

And that kind of work will always be deeper - and more powerful - than words on a page.