After many years conducting public opinion research, there is one finding I encounter consistently, regardless of the issue, audience, or sector I am researching: People are not paying as much attention to your issue as you think they are.
Organizations often work under the assumption that the public has a basic understanding of the issues, policies, or decisions they are communicating about. After all, when they are tackling something that consumes staff hours, attracts media coverage, or occupies significant space in boardroom conversations, it is easy to assume that everyone else is paying attention too. This kind of assumption is common with governments, advocacy organizations, industry associations, unions, and private sector clients alike.
Yet when research results come back, regardless of the topic, I often discover that public awareness is far lower than my client expected it to be. I have seen organizations across sectors including health care, tourism, labour, technology, natural resources, and environmental advocacy run into the same fundamental barrier: most people know little about a given issue until they are directly affected by it.
This is not intended to be a criticism of the public’s attention span or a complaint about the education system. It is simply a reflection of how busy people set priorities and navigate an increasingly complex world.
So, in that spirit of navigation, consider the following myths that may be driving your organization’s decisions.
Myth #1: The Public Is Well-Informed
Every day, we encounter tremendous quantities of information about work, family responsibilities, politics, finances, health, community events, entertainment, and countless other topics. Most people have neither the time nor the inclination to become experts on every issue competing for their attention.
Those of us who work as communicators and advocates can spend months or years immersed in a subject. We read briefing notes, follow developments, attend meetings, and engage with stakeholders. It can be difficult to imagine that others have not, at the very least, heard about the topics that consume our days.
The result is a disconnect. Organizations have a tendency to communicate as though their audience already understands the issue, when in reality most people have heard very little about it.
Myth #2: The Loudest Voices Represent the Majority
When an issue becomes contentious, there is almost always a small group of highly engaged individuals who dominate the conversation. They attend meetings. They write letters. They comment on social media. They email decision-makers. They speak passionately. They are ever-present. Because they are so visible, it is easy to assume they represent the broader public, but it is a mistake to confuse visibility with representativeness. The loudest voices tell us who is most engaged, but they do not necessarily tell us what most people think.
Organizations often rely on voluntary feedback, media coverage, and social media discourse to understand public sentiment. These can all be valuable sources of information, but they share an important limitation: they disproportionately attract people with strong opinions and a high level of personal investment in the outcome. This means they are not reliable indicators of where the majority opinion sits. Maybe the majority is supportive but unmotivated to speak. Maybe it’s uncertain. Maybe it has not formed an opinion at all. Maybe it has barely heard about your issue in the first place.
Myth #3: Uncertainty Means Opposition
Organizations often encounter hesitation from the public and conclude they have an opposition problem. But uncertainty should not automatically be interpreted as resistance. Often, it is a sign of apathy, not antipathy, toward an issue. Apathy is something we can work with.
When awareness is low, people may express uncertainty or even negativity because they have not engaged in the issue at all, or they genuinely do not feel equipped to form an opinion on it. This is very different from entrenched opposition. People who are firmly opposed require one strategy, but people who are undecided require another. Too often, organizations mistake the latter for the former.
The Real Question Is Not Whether People Care
The issues that receive limited public attention are not inherently unimportant; they simply feel distant from people’s lives and therefore get lost in the noise. Before asking if people care about an issue, it is worth asking first if they have been given a reason to care.
Some organizations recognize low awareness as a barrier, and they may be tempted to respond with information or education campaigns. However, the education approach does not address the root cause of low awareness. The challenge for communicators is not to simply provide more information: it is to provide relevance, and to give people a reason to engage with the details. Why does this matter? How does it affect me? What problem does it solve? Why should I pay attention now?
A More Realistic View of Public Opinion
The idea of a fully informed public is appealing, but reality is more complicated. That is not a failure of civic engagement or public interest. It is a consequence of limited time, fragmented attention, and competing priorities that we all have to manage in our own lives.
For organizations seeking to influence opinion, build support, or navigate change, the lesson is straightforward.
- Do not assume people already know what you are doing.
- Do not assume the loudest voices speak for everyone else.
- Do not mistake uncertainty for opposition.
Instead, start by understanding what people know, what they do not know, and what they need to feel connected to the issue. Successful communication begins not with what we want to say, but with where the audience is prepared to listen.
How Counsel Can Help
Strong research reveals where people actually are, not where we imagine them to be. At Counsel, we help organizations move beyond assumptions and understand how people really think, feel, and make decisions. We use a range of techniques, including public opinion surveys, stakeholder engagement, focus groups, message testing, and strategic consultation to help our clients meet audiences where they are, not where they assume them to be, and make decisions grounded in evidence rather than intuition.
If your organization is navigating a complex issue, considering a major decision, or seeking to better understand its audience, Counsel can help you replace assumptions with evidence. Reach out to learn more about what we do.