#WeLeadComms: Antonia Loncar

Today’s #WeLeadComms honors go to Belgium-based communication leader Antonia Loncar.

In her words:

“‘Words are my domain.’

“I’ve been repeating this little mantra for longer than I can remember.

My love of language grew starting with my mother tongue, Croatian, followed by the five others I learnt over the years. Language has always fascinated me. A piece of living history—a bridge connecting those who came before us with those who will come after us.

In practical terms, this also meant my school essays were always far too long, and  my   classmates leveraged my love of syntax for help with their homework.

When the time came to choose a career, communications felt like the obvious choice. This was long before social media, when billboards were still among the most powerful marketing tools (and I still believe they deserve more credit than they get!). Fifteen years later, I can confidently say that communications is far more strategic—and far more complex—than many realise.

Working in communications teaches one humility. Communicators are translators of meaning, expected to understand and navigate across topics while making these relevant for the people they are trying to reach. That is why I believe curiosity is the defining quality of every communicator, followed by empathy as a strong second.

I’ve had the privilege of putting that philosophy into practice across very different contexts: designing the first communication campaign for the EU Delegation in Lao PDR, helping position Armenian Brandy internationally as a European Geographical Indication, supporting public awareness around EU-funded reforms in the Republic of Moldova, and working on public diplomacy initiatives across Europe and beyond.

These experiences taught me something I hadn’t fully grasped before. While one can come to the field as an expert in communication tools and techniques spiced with a pinch of creativity, all this means nothing when one is tested at practicalities like not speaking the local language. This challenges one to explore well beyond  the words themselves , to understand and relate to whom you have in front at an almost visceral level.

Today, I still believe words matter – and after so many years, these are still my domain. But I have learned that communication begins long before these take shape. And perhaps that is the real magic of communications: not finding the right words for ourselves, but guiding others find the right ones that help move them forward. And that is where the real communication magic happens. 

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