Translating the Future: Strategic communication in the presentation of scenarios for different stakeholders

Abstract

This article investigates a dimension that remains underexplored in the field of foresight: the adaptation of the presentation of ready-made scenarios for different audiences. To do so, it draws on communication concepts as a way of understanding and discussing this dimension in the practice of a foresight process. The study adopts a qualitative, exploratory approach, based on 11 interviews conducted with Brazilian professionals with practical experience in corporate foresight. The interviews were carried out online, using a semi-structured guide, recorded with the participants’ consent, transcribed, and manually analyzed thematically from an interpretive perspective. The results indicate that the adaptation of scenario presentation already occurs in practice, but not in a systematized way, appearing more as an intuitive response to specific reception conditions than as a formally incorporated stage in the foresight process. As a contribution, the article proposes an initial approximation between foresight and communication, treating language, narrative framing, and presentation format as relevant dimensions for the understanding, appropriation, and use of scenarios in organizational contexts.