Better, Not More: Credibility Beats Volume As Comms Teams Rethink Executive Strategy

In executive communications, the relentless push for visibility is forcing a strategic retreat to a more fundamental goal: credibility. Effective communication isn't about being seen everywhere. It's about being trusted where you are seen. In a saturated media environment, the priority is no longer doing more. It's being better.

Dominic Terry, Manager of Corporate Communications, Brand and Community at Strategic Group, a real estate and investment company, spent nearly two decades in broadcast journalism before moving into corporate and non-profit communications. A former reporter, news producer, and supervising producer, he received a citation from The Canadian Press for breaking a national news story. That newsroom background informs a communications philosophy that directly confronts the more-is-more mentality.

"Better, not more. Start with the goal, then let the objectives, tactics, and messaging flow from there. If you’re just flooding the market with content that doesn’t mean anything, people will see right through it," says Terry. For him, that starts at the very beginning. The first question is always 'why,' and the answer to that shapes everything that follows.

Putting that philosophy into practice starts with a question of fit. Before any content is created, Terry insists on asking a fundamental question: "Why are we doing this?" The answer becomes the filter for every decision, building authenticity by aligning the message with the messenger. Having an immigrant leader speak on immigration, for instance, builds a platform of genuine credibility from lived experience.

• The credibility filter: To humanize a brand that could be perceived by some as big and cold, Terry documents the company's community involvement, then collaboratively shapes that footage into a purposeful story that flows directly from a core goal. "Never put your executive in a position where they aren’t a credible voice in the subject. The moment an audience questions why your executive is in that space, you’ve already created a credibility issue," he says. But differentiation in a crowded market comes down to a disciplined approach to execution. For Terry, that means applying journalistic standards to give content purpose and polish, a direct result of a career spent in broadcast newsrooms.

• Raise the bar: Terry's four-person team (communications coordinator, graphic designer, social media content creator, and videographer) is built around a deliberate investment in production quality. "I have a really hard time looking at shaky video," he says. "It needs to have a beginning, a middle, and an end." If you're not spending the money to put out high-quality video content to capture audience attention on platforms like YouTube or documenting behind-the-scenes work, he argues, you're already behind.

• One size fits none: That same discipline extends to platform strategy. "We go back to the basics: who is your audience? A common mistake is using the same language across all platforms. You have to tailor the message. It should be super credible and face-forward on LinkedIn. It's a little bit more fun for an Instagram audience," he explains.

AI is where the better-not-more philosophy gets tested most. Terry uses AI, and he's direct about that. But he's equally clear about its pitfalls, and where it belongs in the workflow.

• A tool, not a voice: For building a PR playbook, mapping a webinar strategy, or generating structural scaffolding, AI delivers real efficiency. What it cannot do is serve as an organization's authentic voice. "AI is a fantastic tool, and I absolutely use it. But I never copy and paste the output, because it isn't the authentic voice of your organization," he says. With growing concerns around AI slop and misinformation, audiences, particularly younger demographics like Gen Z, will spot the inauthenticity, especially as platforms may one day penalize AI-generated content.

• The AI pigeonhole: The risk compounds when teams stop noticing the drift. "The pitfall is that you can pigeonhole yourself pretty quickly, and that AI-generated text becomes the voice of your organization," Terry adds.

For teams looking to adopt the "better, not more" mindset, Terry's advice is simple: go back and measure what you've done. See what worked, what didn't, and what it cost in time and resources. Then simplify. "Always speak in plain language," he says. "The KISS principle from the newsroom, 'Keep It Simple, Stupid,' is so important. To me, that's what 'better, not more' is all about."

The same discipline applies when executives are in the room. Terry's preparation process ensures a leader knows the landscape, the likely questions, and how to bridge back to key messages when things go sideways. And when they don't know something, they say so. "'I don't know' is a good answer," he concludes. "Making something up on the fly is what makes an executive look stupid, because they will get fact-checked."