Just as calling someone’s name is likely to make them turn their head, few things capture attention more effectively than messaging rooted in universal human truths. Some of the strongest conversions happen when businesses step into their customers’ shoes. A story resonates when audiences clearly recognise themselves in the narrative through authentic depictions of their lived experiences. Brands that understand what their customers are grappling with will consistently outperform those that make themselves the centre of the story.
Empathy storytelling fosters human connection in public relations by deliberately positioning stakeholders as the heroes of the narrative. The brand assumes a supporting role in the lives, struggles, successes and aspirations of its audience. It is a people-first strategy that wins trust by demonstrating understanding. Appreciating the emotions, objections and motivations behind a purchasing decision is what separates storytelling that merely attracts attention from storytelling that drives action.
The most compelling messaging is not built around businesses. Instead, it sparks conversations about people, problems and meaningful change. That is what transforms audiences into advocates. A post that generates 100 genuine conversations is often more valuable than one that reaches 100,000 people only to be forgotten the next day. In many ways, empathy storytelling resembles human-interest journalism, creating conversations that people genuinely want to join.
Factoring in the critical ICP framework
ICP stands for Ideal Customer Profile. It involves building a comprehensive picture of your archetypal audience so that you can communicate with empathy and address their pain points effectively. Rather than producing generic, scattergun messaging, the ICP framework enables personalised storytelling that cuts through the noise. When you speak directly to your audience’s specific problems and aspirations, your message becomes far more persuasive.
The framework also improves word choice by encouraging storytellers to abandon corporate jargon in favour of the vocabulary and tone their audiences naturally use. Businesses often describe products in technical language, while customers describe their problems in simple, emotional terms. The closer your messaging is to your audience’s own language, the more likely they are to feel understood and trust what you have to offer.
Before crafting a story, the ICP framework should help identify the following:
Desires: What is the customer’s ultimate goal? What are they specifically trying to achieve?
Problems and pain points: What stands in their way? Why are existing solutions failing them? Even three-star reviews of competitors on platforms such as Amazon or Alibaba can reveal the exact language that makes storytelling resonate.
Voice of the Customer (VoC): Great messaging often sounds as though the customer wrote it themselves. What exact words do they use to describe their frustrations? Reviews, Reddit discussions, support tickets and YouTube comments all provide valuable insight into the language that makes readers think, “You’ve described exactly what I’m experiencing.”
Reusing your audience’s own vocabulary is one of the most effective ways to create storytelling that feels personal and authentic. Finding and using the exact words people employ to describe their problems makes your content more relatable and persuasive.
The situational theory of Publics
Empathy storytelling is unlikely to succeed without effective audience segmentation and stakeholder mapping. This is where the Situational Theory of Publics becomes invaluable. The theory identifies four factors that influence how people respond to an issue or organisation: problem recognition, constraint recognition, level of involvement and information-seeking behaviour.
The model enables communicators to identify and segment different publics, understand their needs and tailor communication accordingly. It categorises audiences as follows:
- Non-publics: Individuals with no connection to, or interest in, the issue. They are unlikely to engage with your message.
- Latent publics: People affected by an issue or organisation who do not yet recognise it as a problem. The opportunity here is to build awareness.
- Aware publics: Individuals who recognise the issue but have not begun seeking further information or taking action.
- Active publics: People who are fully aware, personally invested and actively discussing, organising or advocating around the issue.
Much of this can be uncovered by analysing online communities, discussion forums and social media comment sections, where recurring questions and objections reveal consistent patterns. These insights enable communicators to use empathy storytelling either to increase problem recognition among latent publics or reduce perceived constraints among aware publics.
The bubble trap: Company excitement is not audience attention
Living inside an organisational bubble is one of the greatest pitfalls in public relations, particularly in complex sectors such as technology, healthcare, energy and finance. Internal enthusiasm surrounding a new initiative or product launch can easily create the illusion that external audiences are equally excited.
They usually are not.
Until a communications team can answer the simple question, Why should anyone outside this room care?, it does not yet have a story.
Viewing every idea through an external lens introduces fresh perspective and keeps communications aligned with audience interests. Few things are more valuable than hearing people explain their frustrations, aspirations and purchasing decisions in their own words. People engage when they feel heard and believe an organisation genuinely understands their concerns and values their perspective.
Stepping outside the corporate cocoon also improves communication. Organisations that enjoy strong public confidence typically benefit from greater customer trust, stronger partnerships, better media relationships and more sustainable brand recognition. Conversely, spending too long immersed in internal thinking can erode sound news judgement.
Regular conversations with people outside the organisation but within the wider industry help maintain that perspective. Public relations does not exist to reward effort. If you cannot explain why someone outside your business should care, journalists almost certainly will not either—and neither will your customers.
AI must remain an assistant, never the storyteller
The importance of first-hand insight and genuine human connection means that storytelling—particularly empathy storytelling—should never be outsourced to a machine. The strongest stories are not formulaic or templated. They are discovered through listening, observation and human understanding, as demonstrated by both the ICP framework and the Situational Theory of Publics.
The Voice of the Customer alone illustrates why organisations cannot rely on automated summaries or generative AI that sounds polished but lacks genuine understanding. AI may know the words, but it does not know the people. It cannot stop readers from scrolling—or persuade them—through hollow phrases such as “building resilience”, “creating sustainable change”, “empowering vulnerable communities” or “transforming lives through partnerships”.
Experienced communicators can usually recognise AI-generated writing almost immediately. They know the difference between a story that has been lived, listened to and understood and one that has merely been generated. Overreliance on AI risks weakening an organisation’s credibility and reputation. There are also ethical concerns, including the potential for factual inaccuracies and the growing difficulty of distinguishing between authentic and AI-generated content.
AI should therefore remain an assistant rather than the storyteller. It is valuable for research, transcription, proofreading, organising ideas and refining tone, clarity and brevity. However, the strategic thinking, audience insight and emotional intelligence that underpin effective storytelling must remain human. Content that reflects genuine audience experiences, preserves their dignity, anticipates risks and arrives at the right moment will always outperform synthetic prose. Authenticity remains impossible to automate.Â
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