Trust rarely collapses in one dramatic event. More often, it erodes through repeated moments of confusion: language shifts, channels drift, guidance changes, and the whole environment begins to feel unreliable.
Consistency is not cosmetic. It is behavioral. It teaches people what to expect. Once expectation breaks repeatedly, credibility has to work much harder to recover.
This is why communication systems need stewardship. They are not simply outputs to manage; they are expectations to maintain.