In a World Where Change Comms Fall Flat…

Most change communications rush to the good news.

“Team, exciting update! Big moves ahead. Bright future. Trust us.”

It’s the corporate equivalent of skipping to the last page of the novel. You get the resolution… but none of the meaning.

Leaders do this all the time. They lead with the “after” (the new strategy, the acquisition, the spin-off, the restructure) because they believe clarity is kindness. But when you skip the tension, you skip the humanity.

Most employees don’t live in the future. They live in the present. And the present is often messy: economic pressure, brand dilution, uncertainty, low engagement.

That’s why so many change announcements feel disconnected. They’re informative… but not transformative.

Enter the Movie Trailer.

This simple storytelling structure empowers leaders to announce uncomfortable change without breaking trust, or breaking stride.

The Movie Trailer Framework

Imagine yourself in a movie theater. It’s cold and dark. The popcorn in your lap is warm, and an icy beverage condensates in your cupholder. You’re surrounded by people, including those who’ve joined you, that are invested in what they’re about to see. The lights drop, and the familiar green screen flashes: The following preview has been approved for all audiences.

Then silence. Darkness. Suddenly [BOOM] the drums. That deep rumble in your chest from a tribal cadence. The camera opens on a pair of boots perched on a precipice. Before the boots: complete chaos. Smoke, lasers, buildings crumbling.

Then the voice: gravelly, ancient, all-knowing.

“In a world…”

That’s how the best action/adventure trailers begin. They set the stage and invite us to leave our comfortable theater seats, trading them for a place among the chaos. They give us the cultural forces pressing down. In a world where Earth is under attack, or in a world where ordinary people are caught in extraordinary circumstances.

The trailer does four things, always in sequence:

1. Names the Setting

2. Shows the Subjects

3. Lays out the bleak Options

4. Introduces the Hero

This arc works because our brains are wired to respond to it. It delivers just enough cortisol to make us lean in, just enough oxytocin to care about the people in need of rescue, and just enough dopamine to believe in the solution.

This four-beat rhythm works just as well in the boardroom as it does at the box office:

Let’s take them one by one.

1️⃣ Setting: “In a world where…”

Your story begins by describing the forces pressing on your audience. Not necessarily villains, but gravity. These are the undeniable, macro-level currents shaping their world.

2️⃣ Subjects: “Who needs rescue?”

Next, we meet the people inside that world. The subjects of the story. In a trailer, these are the individuals in need of rescue. The mother clutching her child, the firefighter running through smoke. In business, it’s your clients, colleagues, or customers. The real humans living under those forces.

3️⃣ Options: “What lousy choices do they see?”

Every effective trailer drags us through the dirt. This is where we name the alternatives, or paths your audience already sees in front of them. And almost always, those options map to one of three primal responses: fight, flight, or freeze.

When people are under pressure, adrenaline is already active in their system. These options are instinctive survival modes. By naming them, you demonstrate that you see the world as they see it, and that builds trust. Once the audience feels recognized, cortisol (attention) and oxytocin (empathy) can take the stage, creating space for a new story.

Fight

Fight means leaning in harder. Doubling down on what we’re already doing, even though we know it will demand more time, energy, money, and other precious resources. It’s the futile choice: exhausting ourselves in a battle we know we can’t win.

Flight

Flight means running away from the problem. Handing it off to a vendor, outsourcing accountability, or cutting bait on something that could work simply because it feels safer to walk away. It’s the evasive choice: hiding from the issue instead of resolving it.

Freeze

Freeze means sticking with the status quo. Waiting. Hoping. Convincing ourselves “next time will be different.” But as the saying goes, doing the same thing and expecting a different result is insanity. Hope is not a strategy. It’s the paralyzing choice: staying put while problems compound.

4️⃣ Hero: “Thankfully…”

Now (and only now) introduce the idea as the turning point. The hero’s job is to resolve the tension, save the subjects, and deliver hope. When we watch a Batman trailer, we see our hero does this with his strength, speed, toys, butler, and an array of fancy automobiles. When we communicate change in a company, the super powers of our idea are the reasons to believe in it.

This sequence works for a simple reason:

People don’t change because the future is shiny. They change because the present is heavy.

If you don’t name the heaviness, the hope doesn’t land.

A Real-World Example

This week, Topgolf Callaway Brands announced it would sell a 60% stake in the Topgolf and Toptracer business to private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners in a deal valued at roughly $1.1 billion. The parent company said the move would free up capital, refocus the organization on its core portfolio, and set Topgolf up for its next chapter under new ownership.

You don’t have to work in golf to feel the stakes of a moment like that. Big strategic shifts ripple into culture, identity, job security, and morale.

These announcements carry weight.

So let’s use a completely fictional, generalized example inspired by scenarios like this to illustrate the gap between what leaders usually say… and what they could say using the Movie Trailer.

What Leaders Usually Say

(Purely illustrative. Not commentary on Topgolf, Callaway, or LGP.)

“Team, today marks an exciting new chapter. We’ve secured a major investment from a world-class partner who believes in our long-term potential. This partnership strengthens our brand, accelerates growth, and creates new opportunities for all of us.”

It’s polished.

It’s upbeat.

It’s frictionless.

And it completely ignores the reality employees are living in: economic pressure, brand confusion, declining performance, uncertainty around the future.

This message skips straight to the promise without naming the pressure.

Let’s rebuild that same fictional script using the Movie Trailer.

The Movie Trailer Version

1️⃣ Setting — In a world where…

“In a world where guest traffic is uneven, competition for leisure spending is tightening, and same-venue performance has been under pressure, our business is carrying more weight than it should.”

2️⃣ Subjects — Who needs rescue?

“Our frontline teams feel that weight every day. We’re managing unpredictable volumes, protecting the guest experience, and doing it while wondering what the future holds.”

3️⃣ Options — The lousy choices

“If nothing changes, we’re left staring down three difficult paths:

• We could push harder with the same tools.

• We could start cutting back from what makes us great to save margin.

• Or we could wait and hope the market magically shifts.”

4️⃣ Hero — The turning point

“None of those ideas is attractive. And that’s why we decided to bring in a strategic investment partner. This move reinforces our commitment to stability, to growth, and to giving our teams the resources they need to thrive.”

Same facts.

Different story.

A story people can actually see themselves in.

A story that will make employees turn to those around them and say, “Let’s see that movie.”

Why This Works

Many leaders communicate change like they’re checking a compliance box.

But humans don’t understand change because of bullet points.

They follow tension and release.

Recognition and resolution.

Truth and hope.

The Movie Trailer framework does the one thing most corporate scripts avoid: It tells the truth first. Because the truth builds trust. And trust gives your idea a fighting chance.

For Leaders Steering Through Change

If your organization is heading into a transition (a new strategy, a restructuring, a divestiture, a merger, a rebrand) the Movie Trailer framework will help your leaders communicate with clarity, empathy, and momentum.

If you want guidance applying it to your next announcement, schedule a Campfire Method® storytelling workshop here:

👉 https://gatherround.us/schedule-a-presentation-workshop/

Your people deserve a story they can believe in.

Your next announcement is the perfect place to start.

🔥 Hi, I’m Eric, and every week, I share insights, observations and tools so you can ditch decks and light a fire in your high-stakes presentations. If you like what you see here, follow me on LinkedIn.