Why we teach what we know: The multiplication effect of communication skills

At Canny, we could easily keep our communication expertise to ourselves. After all, maintaining a competitive advantage is business sense, right? But when it comes to defence and security innovation, we've chosen a different path – and here's why teaching others our skills creates far greater impact than hoarding them ever could.

The exploitation challenge facing defence and security innovation

Every day, brilliant scientists and engineers across the defence and security sector make breakthroughs that could transform how we protect our nation. Yet too many of these innovations remain trapped in laboratories, struggling to make the journey from research to frontline capability.

The problem isn't the quality of the science – it's the communication gap. Experts who can revolutionise warfare often struggle to explain their work to the decision-makers, investors, and end-users who could make it reality. Security constraints, complex technical concepts, and simple lack of media training create barriers that slow innovation adoption when speed could save lives.

The multiplication effect of training

When we work directly with organisations, we might help five or ten technologies reach their potential. But when we train experts to become confident communicators themselves, we amplify our impact exponentially.

Train one scientist to articulate their research compellingly, and every project they touch benefits. Train a research team, and you transform an entire organisation's ability to secure funding, attract partners, and drive adoption. Train leaders across the sector, and you accelerate the pace of innovation delivery across defence and security.

This is why our training programmes – from intensive media coaching to our Canny Experts membership – aren't just services. They're force multipliers for the entire defence and security innovation ecosystem.

Beyond business: A mission-driven approach

Our decision to share rather than hoard stems from our core mission: getting great science and technology into the hands of frontline users, faster.

Every expert we train becomes an advocate for their own innovation and a more informed voice in public discourse about defence and security technologies. When technical specialists can communicate confidently with media, they counter disinformation, build public understanding, and create the informed debate our democracy needs around defence and security investment and priorities.

More expert voices in the media means better-informed public discourse, increased collaboration opportunities, and stronger counter-narratives to disinformation about defence and security technologies. In a world where technical misinformation spreads rapidly, having more trained communicators who can explain complex realities is a strategic necessity.

The competitive advantage of collaboration

Some might argue we're training our competition. We see it differently. Collaboration accelerates innovation faster than competition ever could. When the entire sector communicates more effectively, everyone benefits:

• Funding flows more readily to promising technologies
• Industry partnerships form more quickly around compelling opportunities
• End-users adopt innovations faster when they understand the benefits
• Public support for defence and security investment strengthens through better communication

The challenge of getting cutting-edge technology from laboratory to frontline is too important for any single organisation to solve alone. By building communication capabilities across the sector, we create an ecosystem where innovation thrives.

Evolving how we teach and learn

As we share our expertise, we're simultaneously enhancing it. We're continuously investing in new approaches to training design and delivery, incorporating insights from psychology, neuroscience, and learning technology to make our programmes more effective.

From understanding how technical minds process communication concepts to leveraging digital platforms for immersive training experiences, we're constantly refining our methods. This commitment to innovation in training delivery ensures we're not just teaching communication – we're demonstrating it through cutting-edge educational practice.

The feedback from every programme participant, the latest research in adult learning, and emerging technologies all feed back into improving how we develop communication excellence. It's a virtuous cycle where sharing knowledge helps us generate better knowledge.

Building the communicators our sector needs

Whether through our intensive face-to-face media training, flexible virtual development programmes, or the comprehensive Canny Experts membership, we're building a community of technical experts who can bridge the gap between complex science and public understanding.

Our Reputation Masterclass brings together these voices annually, showcasing the breadth of expertise across defence and security whilst raising funds for those who have served. It's a tangible demonstration of what becomes possible when expert communicators connect, collaborate, and learn from each other.

The long view: Sector transformation

True transformation happens when individual capability building creates systemic change. As more technical experts become confident communicators, the entire defence and security sector's ability to articulate its value, secure support, and drive adoption improves.

This isn't just about better presentations or smoother media interviews – though those matter. It's about ensuring that the innovations our nation needs for future security can navigate the complex journey from research breakthrough to operational capability.

In defence and security, the stakes are too high for communication to be an afterthought. Lives depend on getting the right capabilities to the right people at the right time. That's why we teach what we know, train our potential competitors, and invest in building communication excellence across the entire sector.

Because when everyone communicates better, everyone's innovations travel further, faster.

Ready to join the multiplication effect? Explore our training programmes and discover how enhanced communication skills can accelerate your innovation's journey to frontline impact.