By Sally Pritchett
CEO
We’re drowning in comms – and it’s costing us time, focus and performance.
“We’re overcommunicating ourselves into burnout and inefficiency, and it’s time to reset.”
That’s what our CEO Sally told the TEDx audience – and it’s a message every communicator should be taking seriously.
88% of our time at work is now spent communicating. We’re battling constant meetings, pinging inboxes, Slack messages stacked on WhatsApps stacked on Teams. All of it fighting for our attention – and draining the time and headspace people need to focus, think, and create.
We’ve normalised the constant noise. But it’s not harmless.
The real cost of overcommunication
We like to think communication helps productivity. But too often, it’s doing the opposite. It slows decisions. Drowns clarity. Fuels confusion, stress and burnout.
And as Sally pointed out, it’s not just the tech and tools that are to blame – it’s us. With all our hopes and hang-ups. We overcommunicate because we care. Because we’re scared. Because we want to be seen. Because we want to help. Because we want to feel useful, included, appreciated. And now we’ve started communicating in those ways, it’s become hard to stop.
Top-down decisions to tackle this by turning off channels or reducing meetings can only go so far. As communicators, we need to be making better choices too.
Communicators have a vital role to play
If you work in internal comms, this is your moment. Not to add more to the mix, but to be the one asking the hard questions:
- Does this need saying at all?
- Is this the right channel for it?
- How will this land with the people receiving it?
- Are we helping or interrupting?
Workforces need clearer purpose, more intention and more respect for the cost of their time, and attention.
Time to lead a communication reset
Sally’s TEDx talk isn’t just a reflection on where we are – it’s a call to do things differently. To stop measuring communication by volume and start focusing on impact. For those of us in comms, that means stepping up, not to add more, but to guide better. To help our organisations cut through the noise, not contribute to it.
Coming in early 2026, Sally’s new book Overloaded explores the human drivers behind today’s workplace noise and offers a practical roadmap to bring more intention to the way we communicate. Packed with stories, tools and everyday tactics, it will help teams reset their approach and communicate in ways that support focus, connection and performance. Find out more at LINK