What Pride Teaches Communicators About Trust and Change

Every June, Pride Month provides an opportunity to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and reflect on the progress that has been made toward greater equality and inclusion. But Pride is also a reminder of something communicators understand well: meaningful change rarely happens overnight.

The story of the LGBTQ+ community is, in many ways, a story about communication itself. It is a story of visibility, advocacy, storytelling, and relationship-building. It is a story of people finding the courage to share their experiences and communities working tirelessly to create understanding where misunderstanding once existed.

For communicators navigating an increasingly complex and divided world, there may be no better case study in resilience, influence, and trust-building.

Phil Nardone, CEO of PAN, believes many of those lessons begin with authenticity.

"For a long time, I lived in the in-between. I built a company, led people, sat in rooms making decisions, and kept a part of myself just out of view. I came out later in life than most, and I've thought a lot since about what those years of careful editing actually taught me.

Here's what I keep landing on: we can't drive change if we forget where we came from. The hiding. The questions we asked ourselves, and the ones we braced for from everyone else. That history isn't something to put behind us. It's the very thing that makes us strong enough for what's in front of us now.

For communicators, I think that's the real lesson the LGBTQ+ community offers. Influence doesn't come from polish. It comes from people deciding that being seen is worth the risk, and then telling the truth anyway. Over and over, in living rooms and boardrooms and the press, until the story shifts. That's resilience in its most practical form. It's also, frankly, the best communications strategy I know.

Our profession likes to talk about authenticity as a tactic. The LGBTQ+ community has lived it as a necessity. The difference is everything.

So as we mark Pride, I'd offer this to anyone in our field: remember the cost of staying quiet, in your own life and in the work you do for others. It's what gives the words weight. And it's why we keep showing up."

The idea of showing up consistently is a theme that runs through many reflections on Pride. Progress has rarely come from a single speech, campaign, or moment in time. Instead, it has been built through countless conversations, relationships, and acts of courage that slowly changed hearts, minds, and institutions.

That perspective resonates strongly with Gerry Rodriguez, EVP, Purpose + Impact, U.S. Chair of Edelman Equal, and Ty Meza, SAS, Multicultural, Edelman Equal NYC Leader.

"One of the greatest lessons communicators can learn from the LGBTQ+ community is that meaningful change happens through connection, not just communication.

At a time when many people are retreating into communities, information sources, and perspectives that feel familiar, communicators face a growing challenge: how do we build trust across differences? The LGBTQ+ community has been navigating that question for decades. Progress has rarely come from having the loudest voice in the room. It has come from building relationships, creating visibility through lived experience, finding common ground, and helping people see themselves in stories they may not have initially understood.

The community's resilience also offers an important reminder that influence is earned over time. Lasting change is often the result of countless conversations, moments of advocacy, and people choosing to show up consistently even when conditions become more difficult. In many ways, that mirrors what the best communicators strive to do every day: build credibility through action, not just messaging. It's also consistent with what we see in our findings from the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer and our recent special report, Brand Growth in an Insular World, that people increasingly look for proof, experience, and authentic relationships before they decide who and what to believe.

Perhaps most importantly, the LGBTQ+ community demonstrates that authenticity and belonging are not competing priorities. People want to feel seen, valued, and connected to something larger than themselves. When organizations create space for that through culture, leadership, or communications, they build trust that can withstand moments of uncertainty.

For communicators, the lesson is simple: meaningful influence starts with empathy, grows through relationships, and is sustained through consistency. In a world that often feels increasingly divided, those skills have never been more important."

Their observations reflect a reality facing communicators today. Trust is increasingly difficult to earn and remarkably easy to lose. Audiences want more than messaging. They want evidence. They want authenticity. They want organizations and leaders whose actions align with their stated values.

Ben Finzel, President of RenewPR, argues that the LGBTQ+ community's experience offers important lessons about protecting progress once it has been achieved.

"Freedom isn't free. Equality requires work and it depends on community. LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized communities have worked together to demonstrate that everyone is part of the fabric of our society regardless of who we are, who we love, who we pray to or what we look like.

Rights once won, can be lost. Equality requires consistent advocacy and action, particularly in the face of disinformation and discord. Communicators have a vital role to play in ensuring that the narrative about LGBTQ people is both fair and accurate.

Existence is resistance. The fact that we are here and continue to be proud of who we are and who we love is a revolutionary act. Fully acknowledging people for who they are and welcoming those differences strengthens society and builds community.

Our presence is neither political nor partisan. Our lives have value and we are worthy of the same freedoms as any and every other person. There aren't 'two sides' to equality and pretending otherwise builds distrust and division.

Pride is not binary. Pride is for everyone because it's about including everyone. Celebrating my existence does not diminish yours and acknowledging my right to equality does not deprive you of yours – it's not pie."

The LGBTQ+ community's history is also a reminder of the power of storytelling. Long before many people personally knew someone who identified as LGBTQ+, stories helped create visibility, foster empathy, and challenge assumptions. They gave people an opportunity to understand experiences different from their own.

That ability to create understanding remains one of communication's most powerful tools.

Andrew Bear, Founder and CEO of Hyperion, sees that lesson as particularly relevant for organizations seeking to build meaningful relationships with stakeholders.

"The LGBTQ+ community has demonstrated that meaningful change rarely happens overnight. Progress is built through visibility, persistence, and a willingness to continue advocating for inclusion even when the path forward is uncertain. One of the most important lessons for communicators is that trust is earned through consistency. Audiences can quickly recognize the difference between performative support and genuine commitment.

The journey toward equality has shown that influence is not simply about having the loudest voice; it's about creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and valued. Effective communication starts with listening, understanding lived experiences, and building authentic relationships over time. Whether working with consumers, employees, partners, or communities, organizations create lasting impact when their actions align with their values throughout the year, not just during a single campaign or cultural moment.

The LGBTQ+ community has also shown the power of storytelling to foster empathy, challenge assumptions, and bring people together across differences. For communicators, that serves as a reminder that the most effective messages are rooted in authenticity, human connection, and a genuine desire to create understanding. Resilience comes from community, influence comes from credibility, and meaningful change comes from consistently showing up and doing the work."

What emerges from these reflections is not simply a conversation about Pride Month. It is a conversation about leadership, trust, and the role communicators play in shaping culture.

The LGBTQ+ community's journey demonstrates that progress is built through persistence, credibility, and human connection. It shows that influence is earned, not claimed. It reminds us that visibility matters, that stories matter, and that people are far more likely to trust what they experience consistently than what they hear occasionally.

For communicators, those lessons feel especially relevant today.

In a profession often focused on messages, Pride reminds us to focus on people. In a world increasingly defined by division, it reminds us of the importance of empathy and understanding. And in a time when trust has become one of society's most valuable currencies, it reminds us that authenticity is not a tactic. It is the foundation upon which meaningful relationships and lasting change are built.