Communicating the Complex: Why Storytelling is Key to Change in the Built Environment
We already have the tools and knowledge to improve air quality in our buildings. But if no one understands or engages with the solutions, how do we expect real change to happen?
Effective communication is the missing link. Whether it’s ventilation, air quality, or construction standards, how we communicate technical subjects can determine whether innovations succeed or fade into obscurity.
I sat down with Liz Male MBE , founder and MD of Liz Male Consulting. Liz has spent decades in communications within the built environment, working with change-makers and innovators to shape how we talk about risk, sustainability, and technical progress. She’s been at the heart of major industry shifts, including TrustMark and the Each Home Counts review, and was awarded an MBE for her services to construction.
We spoke about the power of storytelling, why most communication in the built environment is inconsistent, and how businesses and policymakers can better engage their audiences. If you care about getting technical messages across in a way that actually makes an impact, this one’s for you.
Why Is Communication in the Built Environment So Inconsistent?
Liz didn’t hold back: “Communication in the built environment is better than it was 30 years ago, but it’s still patchy. Some companies have strong branding, clear messaging, and engaging stories. Others say nothing at all.”
A lack of consistency is the core issue. Research shows that trust is built through repetition—hearing the same message framed in a way that resonates. Yet, many businesses treat communication as a one-off task. “People think they can do a conference, write a marketing piece, and then they’re done,” Liz said. “But effective communication is about fixing a position and repeating it. The most successful messaging, even in politics, follows that formula.”
She argued that the best communicators in construction know that they need to say the same things in different ways, tailoring the message to different audiences but maintaining a consistent core message.
Knowing Your Audience: The Foundation of Effective Communication
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is talking to the wrong people—or everyone at once. “If you say you want to communicate with ‘developers’ or ‘housebuilders,’ that’s too broad,” Liz explained. “Are you talking to volume housebuilders? Small regional innovators? SME builders? They all have different concerns, speak different languages, and hang out in different spaces.”
Instead, businesses should create detailed personas of their ideal audience. This means understanding not just job titles but also:
What keeps them awake at night?
What are they Googling?
Where do they get their information?
Who influences them?
Without this level of detail, communication efforts can feel like shouting into the void.
The Power of Storytelling in Technical Communication
Humans are hard wired for stories. We remember narratives, not bullet points. “Every powerful speech, movie, or book follows a handful of core story structures,” Liz pointed out. “If you can shape your technical message into a compelling story, people will remember it.”
But storytelling in the built environment isn’t about cheesy marketing ploys. It’s about structuring communication so that it connects emotionally and intellectually. “Think about Grand Designs,” Liz said. “Every episode follows the same formula: someone has a vision, they hit a crisis point, and they overcome it. Even technical content can be presented like this.”
For businesses, this means turning case studies on their head. Instead of a dry, company-first approach—‘We installed X system in Y building’—it should be: ‘A customer faced a big challenge. Here’s how they solved it, and what they learned along the way.’
The Four R’s of Measuring Communication Success
One of the biggest challenges in communication is knowing if it’s working. Liz outlined a simple but effective way to track impact:
Reach – How many people saw or heard the message?
Reaction – Did they engage? Click, like, comment, or share.
Resonance – Did the message take on a life of its own? Are others repeating it?
Results – Did it lead to tangible outcomes, like new leads, policy changes, or cultural shifts?
Many companies stop at ‘reach,’ but Liz argued that true success is in resonance. “If you start hearing your own phrases coming back to you, that’s when you know you’ve made an impact.”
Risk Communication: Walking the Fine Line
In air quality and construction, we’re often communicating risk. But risk communication is tricky. If you only highlight the dangers, you create anxiety and inaction—especially if people don’t feel they have the power to change things. “We’ve seen this with climate change messaging,” Liz said. “Doom-mongering doesn’t work. What works is flipping the message: showing the rewards of action, inspiring people with solutions.”
One key takeaway was that risk messaging should always be paired with agency—clear steps that people can take to make a difference. Otherwise, it just creates stress.
The Role of Communications in Changing the Industry
Liz’s career has spanned some of the most significant shifts in UK construction policy, from TrustMark to the Building Safety Act. She’s seen first-hand how better communication leads to better outcomes.
“Grenfell changed everything,” she said. “The industry has had to rethink its approach to safety, trust, and accountability. But change isn’t just about new regulations—it’s about how we communicate them.”
She highlighted the challenge with technical standards like PAS 2035: “Is a 55-page PDF really the best we can do? If even experts struggle to digest it, how can we expect industry-wide compliance?”
The industry needs to move beyond documents and find new ways to communicate standards and best practices—through storytelling, real-world examples, and more engaging formats.
Keep Going, Keep Communicating
If there’s one takeaway from my conversation with Liz, it’s this: communication is not a one-and-done exercise. It’s an ongoing, evolving process that requires clarity, consistency, and creativity.
In air quality, ventilation, and the built environment, the best ideas won’t change the world if they aren’t communicated effectively. And that means thinking strategically, knowing your audience, telling compelling stories, and staying the course—long after you feel like you’ve repeated yourself too many times.
For anyone working in this space, the challenge is clear: find the right story, tell it well, and keep telling it until it resonates. Because the built environment depends not just on what we build, but on how we talk about it.
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