The Cost of Rushed Communication

Communication is often treated as optional — something nice to have, but not critical enough to slow down for.

But every time I’ve seen a breakdown in trust, understanding, or confidence, it almost always traces back to the same root issue: someone didn’t take the time to communicate clearly.

This morning, for example, I was watching a Bloomberg interview with a CEO being asked fairly straightforward questions about her company. And yet, the conversation kept getting tripped up. The answers were rushed. There were no pauses to organize thought. The explanations felt shaky and disconnected, to the point where it came across as uncertainty even if the knowledge was there.

The flow wasn’t clear. The confidence wasn’t clear. And because of that, the message didn’t land.

What struck me most wasn’t just the interview itself, but the reaction of the person watching with me, someone who has no background in communications at all. They eventually turned the channel off because they couldn’t stand how the questions were being answered. It was distracting. Frustrating. Unsettling.

That’s the risk of poor communication.

And that risk is amplified on a platform like Bloomberg, but it applies everywhere. Internal meetings. Investor updates. Team announcements. Client conversations. Public statements.

When we communicate, whether about business or something personal, the goal is simple: to be understood.

That feels like a basic concept, even obvious. And yet, I see it overlooked again and again.

People rush communication just to say something went out.

Or they delay it entirely because they haven’t taken the time to get clear on what they’re actually trying to say.

In both cases, the result is the same: confusion, erosion of trust, and missed connection.

At the end of the day, everyone can benefit from a communication tune-up — call it tailoring, refinement, or clarity work.

Because the real question isn’t whether you communicated.

It’s this:

Is what you’re putting into the world actually landing the way you think it is?

Do you have evidence, qualitative or quantitative, that your message is working?

And do you even understand your own communication style?

(That last one is a conversation for another day.)

At the end of the day, communication isn’t about saying something went out.

It’s about whether what you said actually landed.