Brad Rateike: Communication matters — and not just in politics

I work in strategic communications for a living, which means I spend a lot of time helping people explain what they’re doing and why it matters.

Creating and fine-tuning a targeted message is not a career I knew existed when I was young, so it’s not the answer I gave when people asked what I wanted to do when I grew up.

Now, 20-plus years into my career, I have developed an appreciation of when a person or organization uses communications as a tool for good, and I have an almost allergic reaction when I see communications as a continual missed opportunity.

This is not a column arguing that more people should hire someone like me. If anything, it’s a reminder that the better you are at communicating, the less likely you are to need someone in my line of work.

Most people struggle with messaging. Not just politicians. Not just executives. People. If you’ve ever been married, you already know this. Marriage isn’t easier than running for office. Some days it’s not even close. At least elected officials get two- or four-year terms. There are marriages that might benefit from that kind of structure.

The point is that communication is hard, and the consequences show up everywhere. In politics, those consequences show up on election night.

After every primary, we rush to explain the results with a single neat storyline. It was that issue. It was that endorsement. It was that vote.

Sometimes that’s true. Sometimes it’s just the easiest way to package the outcome. But underneath all of that is a more basic question. Did voters understand what their elected officials actually did, why they did it and why it mattered?

If the answer is no, that’s not a policy problem. It’s a messaging problem.

We’ve seen this across the country. Incumbents lose, and the explanation becomes that they were on the wrong side of an issue or that they faced a challenger endorsed by President Trump, who has built a reputation with many voters for delivering results and communicating those results in a way that sticks. Whether one agrees with that or not, this is the 2026 reality.

But this isn’t just a political lesson. It’s a human one.

Hockey player Jack Eichel (a member of the 2026 Olympic team) was recently asked in a postgame interview what made the difference after a big win.

He didn’t mention talent or game strategy; he talked about communication. He talked about how his coach explained the why and the how behind what they were doing.

That clarity inspired the team and now he’s playing for the Stanley Cup.

When people understand the mission, they perform better. When they don’t, they drift.

That’s true in a locker room, in a marriage and in a legislative district.

Most voters aren’t reading committee reports or tracking bill amendments. They’re living their lives. If you want them to understand why something matters, you have to explain it in a way that connects to their world.

In politics, that means your message should hold up whether someone hears it live, reads it later, or catches a short clip online. It should be understandable, repeatable and grounded in something real.

Popularity matters, but popularity without understanding doesn’t last. Truly durable strength in politics, in leadership and in marriage comes from helping people see the connection between what you’re doing and why it matters to them.

Results don’t speak for themselves. People speak for results. And if you’re not communicating yours, someone else will do it for you, and you may not like their version.•

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Rateike is founder of BAR Communications and served as director of cabinet communications for President Donald Trump. Send comments to [email protected].

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