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Tension builds trust: Neat narratives don’t build credibility, honest ones do
30 July 2025
PR has become reliant on templates. Press releases follow fixed patterns, while blogs and LinkedIn posts often stick to familiar formats that prioritise structure over originality. Here, Richard Stone, Founder of Stone Junction, argues that technical storytelling needs less formatting and more creative tension to truly resonate with the audiences that matter.
The results of a template might appear clear and professional, but they rarely leave a lasting impression. The intention behind structure is sound; it offers clarity and reduces friction. But when structure becomes a substitute for thinking, it starts to flatten the work; ideas are shaped to fit a frame, rather than the other way around.
What should be an opportunity to provoke thought or challenge assumptions becomes something much safer. And when that happens, technical PR stops feeling technical and starts sounding generic.
Generating coverage may be the visible output, but the real objective is lasting credibility that shifts how your audience sees you and strengthens your position in the market.
Clear communication still matters, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of curiosity or complexity.
Good storytelling, especially in complex sectors, doesn’t always start with a headline and end with a summary. Sometimes, it works better when the question remains open, when the reader has to sit with the implications a little longer. When the resolution doesn’t arrive neatly at the bottom of the page.
In technical PR, tension has a purpose. It gives the audience something to chew on. Engineers, scientists and developers don’t shy away from ambiguity – most of their work involves managing it. So, when PR content tries to smooth every rough edge or explain every outcome, it often misses the mark. It feels packaged and sounds like something written to fill a column rather than express a position.
As novelist and lawyer Scott Turow put it in an interview with The Paris Review, “The purpose of narrative is to present us with complexity and ambiguity, not to simplify it. The best stories resist resolution because life does too.” That tension doesn’t weaken a message; it gives the reader space to reflect on what’s being said and consider why it matters in their context.
Too often, PR opts for neatness over nuance. It smooths every curve, pre-empts every question, ties off every thread. But in technical work, progress rarely feels that tidy. Recognising tension shows respect for the audience’s intelligence and invites them in. It turns content into a conversation starter rather than a statement.
PR doesn’t need more templates. It needs writing that’s willing to enter the grey and stay there long enough to say something meaningful.
At Stone Junction, we approach communications with that mindset. We don’t tidy away complexity; we use it to invite engagement and build trust over time. Not every article needs a final answer. Sometimes the most valuable part is what it sets in motion. A shift in perspective might follow, or a quiet conversation that changes the direction of a decision. Writing that opens rather than closes often lingers longer in the reader’s mind.
To keep up to date with the latest theory and practice in technical PR, subscribe to Stone Junction’s podcast, The Junction Box, on Apple Music, Spotify or wherever you prefer to get your podcasts today.
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