Is communication an art or a craft?

Why do I speak of an “art” in my tagline “The Art of Communicating”. Isn’t it more of a craft?

It is a craft. You can learn a lot by following the rules.

There are the ancient rules of Aristotle: logos, ethos, and pathos.

There are the rules of modern storytelling.

There are the rules about how our attention works.

And many, many more …

The art is in making it appear as if there were no rules.

If you just follow the rules, it will most likely end up feeling like it’s created by, well, following a set of rules (just scroll through your LinkedIn timeline or surf to the next landing page that sells you an online course and you know what I mean).

When you just follow the rules, it will feel “created” rather than natural.

The art is in making it feel natural rather than created. You might still follow the rules. But they aren’t visible anymore.

It’s the difference between a masterful piece of art and the same piece reproduced through painting by numbers.

But let’s throw the question back at you: Is communication an art or a craft?