- June 1, 2026
- 8 min read
That was the idea Dr. Catasha Davis, strategic communication researcher and founder of Point North, brought to her Bloom Connections Educational Moment.
Catasha works at the intersection of research and strategic communication. She described herself as the person who helps organizations get the data that informs their communication campaigns, drawing from experience across health communication, government, defense, and other research environments.
For her Educational Moment, she introduced us to framing.
It sounds simple at first. We all make choices about how we say something.
But Catasha showed us that a frame can do much more than change the wording of a message.
It can change what someone believes the message means.
A Frame Tells Us How to Interpret What We See
Catasha defined framing as the way messages are presented and interpreted.
She explained that frames can tell us how to think about a topic, not simply what the topic is. They can also influence what we identify as the problem and what we believe the solution should be.
To show us what that looks like, she took us back to news coverage following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Catasha described two images.
Both showed people moving through floodwaters carrying food.
Yet one caption described a person as having “looted” a grocery store, while another described people as “finding food.”
Those words created two very different stories.
If someone is finding food, the problem appears to be a lack of food.
The logical response becomes helping people get something to eat.
If someone is looting, the perceived problem becomes crime.
Now the response we imagine changes.
As Catasha explained to the group, “frames teach us what not only the problem is, but what the solution is.”
The circumstances can look remarkably similar.
The frame changes what we see in them.
And that’s where Catasha turned the conversation toward us as business owners.
We Frame Our Businesses Every Time We Talk About Them
Framing isn’t reserved for news stories or large communication campaigns.
We do it too.
We frame our businesses when we explain how they started.
We frame our expertise when someone asks what we do.
We frame a setback when we tell someone what happened.
We frame our value when we’re introducing ourselves to a potential client or referral partner.
Catasha gave us an example that made the connection immediate.
Someone could describe a transition into entrepreneurship by saying:
“I got laid off.”
Or, Catasha offered another frame:
“I finally had the push to build what I’ve been sitting on.”
The layoff hasn’t disappeared.
The second version isn’t pretending something different happened.
What changed is where the listener’s attention is directed.
One frame centers what ended.
The other centers what the experience set in motion.
And that distinction is where framing becomes particularly useful in business communication.
Framing Isn't About Making Everything Sound Positive
It would be easy to take this lesson and turn it into “say everything in a more positive way.”
That wasn’t the point.
The power of Catasha’s example was that the frame influences interpretation.
It doesn’t require changing the underlying facts.
A business can be going through a transition.
An offer can fail.
A founder can make a decision that doesn’t produce the expected result.
A company can still be small.
The question becomes how you communicate what those facts mean in the larger story of the business.
Consider the difference between:
“The offer didn’t work.”
and:
“The response showed us the offer needed to change.”
Or:
“We’re a small company.”
and:
“We’ve intentionally built with a lean team.”
Neither alternative is automatically the better statement. It depends on what is actually true.
That’s important.
Framing isn’t permission to manufacture a story.
It asks us to become more aware of the story our language is already creating.
Once you understand that, you begin hearing your own business communication differently.
Your Introduction Is Doing More Than Introducing You
At Bloom Connections, we regularly practice explaining our businesses in a short introduction.
Catasha’s Educational Moment gave us another way to think about those few seconds.
You’re not simply telling someone what you do.
You’re helping them decide how to think about what you do.
Imagine introducing your company by listing six different services.
The listener now has six pieces of information to process.
Compare that with framing your work around a recognizable problem and the role you play in solving it.
You haven’t necessarily changed your services.
You’ve changed the context that helps someone understand them.
That becomes particularly important in a networking community.
Someone may eventually be talking about your business when you’re not in the room.
They have to remember enough about you to recognize the right opportunity.
Then they have to explain your work to someone else.
The frame you create can influence what gets remembered and repeated.
And we’re creating those frames in far more places than networking conversations.
Your Website, Content and Pitches Create Frames Too
Once Catasha introduced the concept, it became difficult not to see framing everywhere.
A website headline creates a frame.
So does the first sentence of a LinkedIn post.
A sales conversation creates one.
A pitch deck does too.
Even the way you answer, “How’s business?” can create a small frame around what you’re building.
That doesn’t mean every sentence needs to be carefully polished until it loses your personality.
It means recognizing that communication creates context.
Catasha’s central point gives us a useful way to evaluate that context.
If a frame helps someone understand what the problem is, it can also influence the solutions they begin looking for.
For a business owner, that connection matters.
If people don’t understand the problem your work addresses, they may never recognize when they need you.
If a referral partner misunderstands what you solve, they may overlook an opportunity to introduce you.
If your content continually frames your expertise around the wrong problem, you may become known for something you don’t actually want to lead with.
The message doesn’t end when you hit publish.
Someone still has to interpret it.
Before You Change the Message, Look at the Frame
Business owners spend a lot of time working on what to say.
What belongs in the pitch?
What goes on the website?
What do I post?
How do I explain this offer?
Catasha’s Educational Moment gives us another question to put alongside those:
What frame am I creating around what I’m saying?
Because two messages can contain similar facts and still lead someone toward very different conclusions.
That doesn’t mean we need to control every interpretation.
We can’t.
But we can become more intentional about the context we’re providing.
If you’re talking about a challenge, what are you helping someone understand about it?
If you’re explaining your expertise, what problem does your language make visible?
If you’re describing where your business is headed, are you only explaining where you’ve been?
And if you’re asking someone to remember what you do, what story have you made easiest for them to carry with them?
Those questions move framing beyond word choice.
They make it part of how we communicate the business itself.
The Frame Can Change What Someone Believes Is Possible
Catasha started her Educational Moment with communication theory.
Within minutes, she had connected it directly to entrepreneurship.
The lesson wasn’t that there is one perfect way to tell your business story.
It was that how information is presented influences how people interpret it.
The facts matter.
So does the context surrounding them.
And if a frame can influence how someone understands the problem, it can influence what they imagine as the solution.
That’s worth remembering the next time you’re writing a post, introducing your business, talking about a setback, or explaining what you do.
You can ask whether what you’re saying is accurate.
Then take Catasha’s lesson one step further:
How am I framing what’s true?
The answer may change what someone hears.
About Dr. Catasha Davis
Dr. Catasha Davis is a strategic communication researcher and founder of Point North.
Her work spans strategic communication and research, including experience in health communication, government, and defense. Catasha described her role as helping organizations obtain the data needed to inform communication campaigns.
Her work also draws from communication theory and social and cognitive science to examine not only how messages reach an intended audience, but how those messages may be interpreted by others observing them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is framing in business communication?
Framing is the way information is presented in a message and the context that presentation creates for the person receiving it. Catasha explained that frames can influence how people think about a topic, what they identify as the problem, and what they believe the solution should be.
Why does framing matter for business owners?
Business owners constantly communicate information that customers, referral partners, employees, collaborators, and other audiences have to interpret. The frame around that information can influence what those audiences believe the business does, what problems it solves, and why it matters.
Is framing the same as changing the truth?
No. Catasha's example demonstrated how similar circumstances can be described using different frames without framing itself requiring the underlying facts to be replaced. The important consideration is how the presentation influences interpretation.
How can framing affect networking?
A networking introduction creates context around your expertise. The way you describe what you do can influence what another person remembers, which problems they associate with your business, and whether they recognize an opportunity to refer you.
Where does framing show up in a business?
Framing can appear throughout business communication, including website messaging, social media content, networking introductions, sales conversations, presentations, pitches, and the stories a founder tells about the company.
Learn Something. Share Something. Grow Together.
Catasha’s Educational Moment reminded us that the words we use don’t simply describe our businesses. They help shape how other people understand them.
The next time you’re introducing yourself, writing a post, or telling your business story, consider the frame you’re creating around what’s true.
Want to experience the next Educational Moment? Join us at an upcoming Bloom Connections gathering.
Share this article :