When I was a newspaper reporter, a wise editor called me in to his desk to give me a piece of advice I would go on to use for the next 25 years.

“So what?” he asked, pointing to the lead paragraph of my story. “Why does anyone care about this?”

He had me there.

I thought I was doing my job by reporting what was happening. What I learned that day was that what was happening mattered less than why it was happening and, even more importantly, why what was happening would matter to the readers of our newspaper who would be receiving the information.

From that day forward, I was sure to answer the question “So what?” in the lead paragraph of every story I wrote.

That editor’s wisdom followed me into the PR business and has served me – and our clients – extremely well. It seems obvious that PR people would explain why what our clients do matters to the larger public, but you’d be surprised by how many publicists stop short, and instead simply announce what their client is doing. It’s quite self-centered, if you really think about it. They fail to explain why what they are doing is newsworthy to the media they want to promote the story, and they fail to tell the general public why they should care about their client.

What’s the “So What” of recycling?

A recycling organization might say their work shifts the fact that only half of Americans have efficient access to recycling systems and only half of those who do actually recycle consistently. That’s a fair enough problem, right?

But, here’s the “So what?” that is easy to miss: This matters because materials that are not recycled end up in landfill where they go on to emit greenhouse gasses that add to climate change. In coastal communities, trash ends up in the ocean and experts say that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

By adding that second sentence, the organization makes the concept concrete to the uninitiated. It makes people care about the issue.

Who cares about summer learning loss?

A nonprofit runs summer programs to prevent summer learning loss for minority and underserved youth. Nice. But so what? This matters because summer learning loss occurs more readily for minority and economically disadvantaged youth whose parents don’t have the resources to send their children to camp or provide other learning opportunities during the summer. This means they return to school in the fall behind their white or more economically advantaged peers. The regression snowballs year after year and plays a major role in creating systemic generational urban poverty that persists in cities across America today. And poverty is a precursor to crime. Knowing the big picture will make individuals and corporations contribute to the organization’s work.

Why does cold water matter?

Businesses are quick to miss the “So what?” when they talk about their sustainable or responsible work. They might say they developed a product that washes clothes in cold water, but stop short of driving the point home by explaining the energy that is saved by not having to heat the water to get clothes clean, and why saving energy is important not only to the homeowner who pays the electric bill, but to the environment overall.  They also don’t often explain what it takes to develop innovative and sustainable products, how much it costs, and the investment the company had to make in R&D in order to deliver such progressive products to the public. By not explaining all of this above in their messaging, companies are missing an opportunity to state their corporate mission and the reason they are committed to being sustainable.

Voice your values and share your sustainability stories with the public. Doing so will benefit  companies in terms of employee and customer loyalty and sales. Companies that explain their “So what?” when stating their corporate values will be more effective in getting the public to understand the importance of corporate sustainability and the ways in which businesses of the future will be a force for good.

About Teak’s Fearless Communications Guide & Webinar

You can learn about the additional 9 Fearless Communications tips by downloading Teak’s Fearless Communications messaging guide.