Episode 12: Who shapes the story – and how? With Rachel Maguer

That’s something that preoccupies Rachel Maguer, Executive Director of Communications at INSEAD on a daily basis. A linguist by training and with a career as an international marketing and communication leader Rachel has spent more than 20 years connecting with audiences in ways that feel real, honest, and human. She’s witnessed how audiences’ needs and expectations have changed over time, and how that change is picking up pace even more rapidly these days.

In this episode Rachel talks about how polished narratives, once an essential part of communication, no longer resonate with people or do the job they are meant to do. Increasingly, what cuts through is something less controlled – more immediate, more human, closer to what she describes as raw truth and immediacy – the stories and insights that reveal what’s happening now, what’s overlooked, and how words can shape perception.
Acutely aware how much words and stories matter – Rachel shares how it’s not really what you say that matters, but how it lands, and that can totally shift meaning and distort narratives.

That doesn’t mean communication is easy. Moving away from being able to control your polished narrative brings risk - messages can be misunderstood, what you meant can get lost. And when AI is involved, and multiple platforms are used, messages travel faster, you no longer control the channels and the risk of misinterpretation grows.

So the key concern ultimately, Rachel believes, is deceptively simple – Can people feel you? Can they trust you? The question boils down to not what is said, but how.