Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques 215. The New Media Landscape: Trust, Transparency, and Transformation
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Jul 10, 2025 
Join Richard Edelman, President and CEO of Edelman, as he shares crucial insights on building trust in a skeptical world. He emphasizes that actions speak louder than words—true credibility stems from practicing what you preach. The discussion dives into the evolving media landscape, where businesses emerge as the most trusted entities. Edelman also highlights the importance of empathy-driven leadership, advocating for proactive communication to foster genuine connections. His insights shed light on restoring trust amidst declining faith in traditional authorities.
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Evolution of Trust Dynamics
- Trust has become central to institutions over the last 25 years, especially amid the loss of belief in leaders.
- Trust has shifted from top-down to horizontal to local, with business now the most trusted institution.
Decide, Do, Communicate: The 3-Step Formula to Rebuild Trust
To rebuild lost trust, acknowledge the breach clearly and outline a path to fix it. Show how the problem happened, explain what you're doing to resolve it, and provide evidence that the fix is implemented.
Richard Edelman emphasizes a simple three-step approach: Decide, do, communicate. This means making a clear decision on how to address the issue, taking concrete action to fix it, and then communicating openly and transparently about the process.
He stresses the importance of following through on your promises — trust builds when people see consistency between words and actions. Over-surveying or excessive talk without action undermines credibility.
Steps to Rebuild Trust
- To rebuild trust after a breach, acknowledge the issue and clearly communicate your path to fixing it.
- Decide on a course, act on it, and then communicate results to demonstrate follow-through.