Perception is reality

Perception is reality. Better Regulation is only as good as it is perceived by the public. Therefore communicating Better Regulation is as important an aspect of our work as the efforts undertaken themselves: Smart communication is as important as smart regulation. 

Getting heard is hard
Smart communication requires understanding your audience. Yet, as regulators, we tend to focus on the message. We forget that our audience is already overwhelmed with lots of complicated, diverse and unclear messages. When we communicate with citizens and businesses, we sometimes overlook that we merely add voices to the already ear-battering cacophony that is the flipside of modern societies. We often react to our sense of not getting the message across by increasing our communication efforts. Yet, more information often makes people feel lost and confused and engenders anxiety instead of clarity.

In short, it is thus with communication as it is with rules: more isn’t better.

This conference is about understanding the audience. When and why do we cause anxiety? What can we do as a government (or as an enterprise) to avoid it or to solve it? How can we turn anxiety into clarity, trust and confidence? Various experts of communication will share their knowledge and insights with us, triggering new ideas and approaches and enriching the thinking within our own Better Regulation community.