Language for Social Resilience and Connection
Connected people and communities are resilient.
They are better able to cope with disruption and continue to function in positive ways.
Translating the science of connection into practical tools for rural community leaders and changemakers
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Communities navigating change need evidence-based approaches that activate connection and collaboration, orientating people towards the opportunities in change, together. Drawing on social neuroscience, cognitive linguistics, values theory and systems thinking, I provide training and strategic support that builds your confidence and capacity to communicate in a way that strengthens social resilience and adaptive capacity.
Training and capacity building
I facilitate workshops that translate the science of connection into practical frameworks for leaders and changemakers.
You'll learn how stress and disruption shape community dynamics, how to frame challenges in ways that activate compassionate values, and how to design initiatives that strengthen connection and social resilience.
Community connection strategies
I synthesise data, community conversations and research to reveal connection dynamics at the community scale.
Together, we'll apply the science of social connection to your context, building a practical evidence base that identifies existing barriers and highlights where values-based communication can create pathways for positive change.
"I feel inspired and empowered.
Tools are in my hands."
Workshop Participant
An interdisciplinary approach to connection
Build your capacity to understand connection dynamics in the context of complex social-ecological-technological systems, and to communicate in ways that support communities to navigate uncertainty and create positive futures together.
You'll learn:​
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Why framing matters at a neurological and motivational level.
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How values activate different patterns of reasoning and behaviour.
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Why stigma prevents people from seeking connection.
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How language can either reinforce or interrupt cycles of isolation. ​
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How to plan and create messages that change hearts, minds and actions.
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Artwork: Anja Rozen
Build social resilience through interdisciplinary understanding
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Social neuroscience
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How connection and disconnection affect the stress response, decision-making and adaptive capacity.
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Why loneliness is biological.
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How safety and threat shape our ability to collaborate.
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Cognitive linguistics and framing
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How the metaphors and frames we use unconsciously shape reasoning.
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Why "bouncing back" creates different expectations than "bouncing forward".
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How language encodes worldviews.
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Applied values theory
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Explore a practical framework for understanding how values operate as a system of complementary and competing motivations.
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Learn how to activate the values that orientate people towards the opportunities in change, together.
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Systems thinking
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How connection emerges from interactions between people, place, participation and purpose.
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Why community resilience is more than the sum of its parts and can't be reduced to individual factors. ​​
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"It has given me the tools
and motivation to keep going."
Workshop Participant
Training tailored to your context
​Ideal for leadership programs, community organisations, government agencies and purpose-driven initiatives wanting to use language strategically to shift thinking, motivate action and create lasting change.
Delivery options
90-minute webinars: Introduction to key concepts (social neuroscience of connection, values and framing, communication for resilience).
Half-day workshops: Deep-dive sessions building practical skills and understanding in specific areas.
Full-day intensives: Comprehensive training covering the science, frameworks and practical application for your specific context.​
"I feel like I struggle articulating my message at times and the framework and examples have given me clarity and guidance."
Workshop Participant, Leadership Program
Build your confidence and capacity to create language-driven change
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Deeper understanding of how language shapes motivation and drives change
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Practical skills to design values-driven messages that change hearts, minds and actions
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Confidence to communicate effectively in complex, uncertain contexts.
Case study: Connection Needs Analysis
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The Rural City of Wangaratta's Grit & Resilience Consortium commissioned a Connection Needs Analysis to understand what was needed to create a culture of connection and inclusion.
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The analysis synthesised publicly available data, extended conversations with 15 community connectors and peer-reviewed research spanning social neuroscience, connection science, mental health and community resilience.
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The report revealed how biological stress responses, social stigma and intersectional barriers shape disconnection. It showed why some people face higher risks than others. It explained how connection emerges from interactions between people, place, participation and purpose.
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Three key themes emerged:
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First, the need for greater awareness and understanding of connection science to reduce stigma and increase compassion.
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Second, the importance of building safety, skills and confidence as foundations for seeking and fostering connections.
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Third, the value of intentional design that accounts for diverse needs within diverse communities.
Recommendations were presented aligned with the Consortium's program blueprint, giving them practical next steps grounded in both community experience and interdisciplinary research.
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Case study: Building a Culture of Generosity - Language Strategy for Regional Community Resilience (de-identified Community Foundation)
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​​A well-established regional community foundation engaged Words for Change to develop a comprehensive language-driven behaviour change strategy. With a track record of distributing over $3 million to local projects, the foundation sought to strengthen its messaging, deepen audience engagement, and build a sustainable culture of generosity and social resilience across its region.
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The foundation faced several strategic communication challenges:
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Audience Engagement: How to authentically connect with three distinct audiences (donors, grantees, and the broader regional community) with messages that resonate and inspire action
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Values Activation: Articulating and communicating their core values in ways that would activate pro-social behaviours like donating, volunteering, and community participation
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Place-Based Identity: Strengthening their positioning as the region's trusted catalyst for locally driven, positive change
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Behaviour Change: Moving beyond awareness to create tangible shifts in community attitudes and behaviours around giving, connection, and collective action
The Language Strategy prepared for the Foundation emphasised connection as an essential element for community resilience:
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Connecting donors with grassroots changemakers
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Connecting individual generosity with collective impact
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Connecting values with action
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Building a connected community where people experience belonging.
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The messaging framework positioned generosity as essential to community resilience:
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Creating capacity to respond to disruption
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Building social capital through reciprocity and care
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Fostering self-determination and collective efficacy
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Normalising a culture where "people like us do things like this"
From Scarcity to Possibility
Rather than problem-focused messaging that triggers stress responses, this approach emphasises:
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Hope and agency
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Creativity and innovation
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Shared purpose
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Tangible pathways forward
Key Takeaway
Effective communication is about activating the right values, telling the right story, and creating the conditions for people to see themselves as part of the solution.
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This comprehensive language strategy gave the foundation the frameworks, messages and confidence to inspire a culture of generosity, strengthen community connections and position themselves as the trusted catalyst for positive, place-based change.​
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"I wanted to let you know how much I value the brand language assets you have developed. I started with the Foundation in September last year and it was AMAZING to have the brand language in place and available as a critical reference tool. I reference it almost daily and I hope you have seen your work reflected time and time again in our social posts, newsletters, brochure-ware, website and more. It really is a wonderful asset to have and while it is a very slow burn, we are building profile and generating momentum and I believe our messages are resonating with our donors and our community.
Communications Manager, Community Foundation
Dig deeper with linguistic tools to gain clear insights into sentiment and meaning
Language analysis reveals patterns in framing, meaning and motivation that often escape conscious awareness. These patterns shape how people think, feel and act. Understanding them helps sharpen the impact of your communication.
Using specialised linguistic tools and conceptual frameworks, we examine sentiment, categorisation, cognitive processing and shifts in spatial, social or temporal focus. These insights show how people make sense of key issues and where your language can connect and clarify more effectively.
By combining statistical analysis with linguistic techniques, we build a strong evidence base to inform policy communication, stakeholder engagement and strategic messaging.
If you want to go beyond assumptions and understand how your language is really working, this is the place to begin.
Recent research:
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Doing Values Differently
An analysis of values-in-speech using a novel mixed-methods design combining traditional content analysis, computational linguistic tools and statistical modelling. ​
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The emergence and success of the Community Independents movement has attracted keen academic and media interest. Attention has been directed towards the candidates’ inferred political ideology, as well as the movement’s community engagement models, participatory processes and campaigning style, all of which differ from traditional party-based approaches. ​Less attention has been directed towards the role of values, and in particular how the Community Independents and their Liberal Party predecessors convey these through speech. Hence, the values-driven difference is recognised and indeed celebrated in the Community Independents context, but the linguistic elements that determine that difference remain enigmatic.
This study addresses this gap through traditional and emerging tools of linguistic inquiry. It employs computerised text analysis capacities to examine nearly 240,000 words from 180 speeches to determine numeric patterns in speech and yield original insights into how values and related variables such as pro-sociality are encoded and expressed.
Finally, it performs a range of statistical analyses to explore similarities and contrasts in the values-in-speech patterns of the Community Independents and their Liberal Party predecessors.
​Interested to learn more about this research or approach?Please email.
Why work with Words for Change?
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Researcher, educator and communication practitioner with expertise in social neuroscience, cognitive linguistics and systems thinking.
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30+ years translating complex interdisciplinary research into practical frameworks that work in real-world contexts.
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Trusted to build capacity in rural and regional communities, research teams, government agencies and purpose-driven organisations.
