New Year’s Resolutions for PR and Corporate Communications
The start of a new year is supposed to feel hopeful: fresh calendars, new goals, a sense of possibility. Yet as a young PR and corporate communications professional, I find myself feeling more hesitant than inspired.
Over the past year, I’ve paid close attention to how people communicate. Having moved between cultures, languages and environments, I’ve become acutely aware of how communication works in practice. What I noticed is a system that rewards speed, visibility and narrative control. We’re expected to speak confidently, respond quickly and manage perception at all costs. In this environment, empathy becomes optional. Over time, this creates a culture where communication looks polished while feeling increasingly hollow.
The headlines of 2025 made this tension impossible to ignore. People turned to AI for comfort, advice and even companionship. A woman in Japan married a chatbot because it understood her better than her previous partners did. Many others began using AI for therapy instead of turning to loved ones. My “anxious generation” spent more time doomscrolling than connecting face-to-face. Technology offers more communication tools, yet people are more isolated than ever.
As we move into 2026, our field needs a different set of resolutions:
1. Make Empathy Structural, Not Symbolic
Loneliness has become a public health crisis. Nearly half of U.S. adults report feeling lonely, and that feeling often intensifies at the start of a new year. Inside organizations, workplace communication is frequently described as rushed, impersonal and transactional.
Empathy can’t only live in mission statements or holiday messages. It has to appear in the way we make decisions, respond to feedback and treat others. When we measure success only through output or efficiency, we end up discouraging empathy.
If communication is meant to serve people, then questions like whether employees feel heard, supported and safe to speak honestly should matter just as much as performance metrics. When those answers are taken seriously, empathy stops being aspirational and becomes structural.
2. Use the Communication Framework to Listen
One of the reasons I was drawn to communications is that listening is meant to be built into the work we do. The Research, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation (RPIE) model isn’t a checklist, but a framework rooted in listening first and speaking second. As speed and output have become priorities, however, that original purpose has faded into the background.
In a time defined by burnout and constant change, listening is crucial. As a mentor once told me, “Listen to whispers before they turn into screams.” When leaders take the time to understand how people feel and explain the reasoning behind decisions, they create trust. When they don’t, communication becomes performative and disconnected from reality.
3. Choose to Be More Human
We’re all craving something surprisingly simple: better humans behind the messaging. My background in journalism and linguistics taught me that small choices in language matter. A single word can shift tone. A pause can signal either respect or dismissal. These details shape how people experience communication every day.
This past year, many communicators operated in survival mode as they navigated a “year in flux.” Messaging became a tool for maintaining stability rather than creating connections. That reaction made sense in uncertain times, but it shouldn’t become our norm.
Genuine connection doesn’t come from perfectly crafted statements. It comes from empathy. A leader who listens. A message that acknowledges uncertainty. A willingness to admit when something isn’t working. These moments build trust more effectively than any campaign. People do their best work when they feel safe enough to ask questions, make mistakes and show up as themselves.
In a world increasingly shaped by AI, the most valuable skill communicators can offer is the ability to empathize with others. Teams that commit to these resolutions will not only meet business and communication goals, but they will also make work and life feel more human again. Communication is most effective when it begins with empathy. If we can carry that sense of care and intentionality into 2026, we have an opportunity to build something better: a more present, patient and human way of connecting with each other and with ourselves.
