When Brands Forget They’re Talking to Humans
and start sounding like their own documentation
I had a conversation earlier this week that I keep coming back to.
It was with a healthcare company that had clear services, strong intent, and a thoughtful system behind what they do. Nothing about their brand ecosystem was “wrong,” but something still felt slightly off in how it was being communicated.
And I think it came down to this: they were very good at explaining what they do, but less clear on how it actually feels to experience it—or more specifically, what it’s like for a real person sitting on the other side of it. At one point, we kept circling back to the importance of human connection.
And the more we talked, the more it felt like this: people don’t really trust what you do until they understand how you do it—and what that means for them in their specific situation. That’s where trust actually lives. Not in the list of services, but in the in-between emotional experience that rarely makes it into the messaging.
After that conversation, I started distilling what I was noticing into five patterns—less as rules, and more as guardrails I return to when working with founders on design and communication systems.
1. When everything is accurate, but nothing feels like it’s for a person
This shows up a lot in healthcare—and honestly, across most industries as systems become more automated and increasingly AI-assisted. The language is correct, the terminology is precise, and on the surface everything feels technically sound. But there’s often a sense that it could just as easily be describing almost anything—or anyone.
And that’s where the real difference sits. It isn’t about writing “for people” in a broad or generalized way. It’s about whether the language reflects an actual human experience, or whether it only describes the system surrounding it.
2. When the brand can explain the “what,” but avoids the “how”
Most companies can tell you what they do—and how they do it—without hesitation. The gopportunity usually sits in the why. Why does this matter? Why does this outcome exist in the first place? And why does it actually affect a human on the other side of it?
Because “what we do” is easy to package. But “why we do it” is where trust begins to form. It’s messier, more emotional, more specific to the person experiencing it, and less polished in a way that makes it feel more real.
3. When outcomes are clear, but the experience disappears
I am constantly a culprit of this myself: leading with results. Which makes sense—they’re measurable, they feel safe, and, especially in sales or brand positioning, they tend to feel like the most convincing place to start.
But most people aren’t arriving in a new experience looking for the end state first. They’re arriving in a moment of uncertainty, trying to make sense of what comes next. And if all they see is the outcome, you miss the part they’re actually living through right now.
That middle space is where most of the emotional weight sits, and it’s often the part that gets left out. We tend to show the finish line, but rarely the terrain it takes to get there—even though that terrain is the reality people are actually navigating.
4. When expertise is loud, but humanity is quiet
This one is subtle, but I think it might be the most important.
Sometimes brands lean so heavily into credibility that everything starts to feel slightly technical—even in moments where it doesn’t need to be. And I understand why. When you’re building a company, a brand, or even a relationship with an audience, trust becomes the priority, and it’s natural to lead with authority because it feels like the clearest way to earn it.
But authority on its own doesn’t always create a sense of safety. People don’t just want to know that you’re capable—they want to understand what’s behind that capability. They want to feel like there’s something human on the other side of the screen, something that will actually meet them where they are, not just speak from where the brand stands..
5. When it feels like the brand is talking at people instead of to them
Language is one of the most vital aspects of almost everything we interact with.
And the structure of that language is often where a brand reveals what it really is—whether it’s informational, simply telling you things, or relational, inviting you into something with it.
When communication flattens into announcements or explanations alone, something important gets lost in the process: the sense of connection.
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I am absolutely a culprit of this myself, and I don’t say that from a place of distance or perfection. Not every project is a grand slam. But over time, I’ve found myself leaning more and more toward something I care deeply about: revealing the experience of a brand, not just explaining it. And I think that comes down to a simple bias I can’t really separate from the work—I care about humanity in it.
In short, most brands know what they’re doing. The challenge is that they become so focused on being clear that they forget to be felt. And the reality is, people don’t build trust from clarity alone. They build it when they can actually see themselves in how you operate, not just what you offer.
Stay Wild,
Adeline