In conversations with IP experts, a familiar tension comes up again and again.

On the one hand, there is deep expertise: years of training, complex cases handled, difficult decisions made under uncertainty. On the other hand, there is growing pressure to be more visible and to articulate value more clearly, particularly in competitive markets and increasingly digital environments.

What often follows is frustration. Not because IP experts lack substance, but because much of what is labelled branding seems to demand something misaligned with their professional logic: performance, simplification, or confident claims that sit uneasily with the discipline of IP work.

That’s the reason why a reframing becomes useful.

From performing to structuring

The approach I describe here does not ask IP experts to change how they behave, communicate more aggressively, or adopt marketing routines.

It works because it helps them structure and strategically codify what they already do instinctively: their specific way of thinking, deciding, and working.

That codification is precisely the differentiating layer that shapes trust, relevance, and business impact.

In earlier columns, I have written about authority as something that becomes tangible through judgment, consistency, and clarity under pressure. Narrative blocks build on that idea, but take it into a more operational dimension.

Why expertise alone often stays invisible

Most IP experts focus their communication on:

  • what they know
  • what they have done
  • and which results they can deliver

All of this is essential. None of it is distinctive on its own.

In many IP markets, qualifications, experience, and technical excellence are comparable. What differentiates experts is rarely what they know. It is how they think, how they frame trade-offs, and how they act when certainty is unavailable.

The problem is that this layer usually remains implicit. It appears in fragments during client conversations, negotiations, or internal discussions, but it is rarely articulated deliberately.

Narrative blocks are a way to make this layer usable without simplifying it.

What narrative blocks are precisely

Narrative blocks are content blocks that articulate and express brand positioning and an expert’s or law firm’s differentiating ways of thinking and working.
They strategically codify unique strengths, values, and points of difference and make them usable across contexts.
These blocks can be adapted to different formats and situations in which IP experts or law firms need to present themselves during the acquisition process, both digitally and in analogue settings.

They are not slogans. They are not invented stories. They are structured expressions of how expertise is applied:

  • how uncertainty is handled
  • where boundaries are drawn
  • what is prioritised when interests conflict
  • what is deliberately not promised

Each block addresses a recurring situation: a first meeting, a pitch, a conference conversation, a client update, moments where others are silently assessing credibility and judgment.

Strategic clarity and practical usability

The real value of narrative blocks lies in a dual effect.

First, they create strategic clarity.
Developing them forces IP experts and law firms to articulate their positioning, strengths, and values in relation to real decisions, not abstract statements.

Second, they offer practical usability.
Narrative blocks function as ready-to-use modules that can be adapted across contexts:

  • on websites or professional profiles
  • in presentations or proposals
  • and, crucially, in in-person conversations

For IP experts, this analogue dimension remains critical. Authority is often assessed long before any digital interaction, through how recommendations are framed, how questions are asked, and how complexity is summarised.

Narrative blocks reduce reliance on improvisation in these moments.

Codification is not standardisation

One clarification is essential: codifying thinking does not mean flattening it.
It does not mean scripting conversations or turning judgment into formulas.

Well-developed narrative blocks make thinking more traceable. They preserve nuance while providing structure, allowing experts to remain precise under time pressure without resorting to vague generalities or defensive explanations.

In IP, where credibility can be lost instantly, this distinction matters.

Why this matters now

Across previous columns, I have explored why authority today is less about having answers and more about offering orientation; why integrity depends on clearly defined boundaries; and why relevance must be actively maintained.

Narrative blocks connect these ideas at an operational level. They translate positioning into language others can recognise, remember, and rely on, without forcing experts into roles that don’t fit their professional identity.

For some, this brings relief. For others, it reveals how much differentiation has remained uncodified so far. Both are useful starting points.

A final thought

Narrative blocks do not replace expertise.
They don’t compensate for weak positioning.
And they don’t eliminate the need for judgment.

But when developed carefully, they allow IP experts and law firms to turn positioning into communicable authority, consistently, credibly, and across contexts.

And that is often the difference between being respected for one’s work and being actively sought out for it.

If you’d like support shaping your brand into a strategic asset that brings visibility, trust, and real business relevance, feel free to reach out or connect with me.

Until then, a question to reflect on:
Which aspects of your way of thinking and working already create trust, but are still left to chance or need to be re-articulated in every new communicative or acquisition situation?

About the columnist

Giulia Donato
Branding & Communication Advisor | Executive Coach | Lecturer
people & brand strategies
www.donatostrategies.com