Now that I’ve published a book, I have noticed that not one more person than before notices me on the street. But occasionally, at a conference or professional meeting, someone will make a connection between what I hold to be true and my face. And they’ll do their best to incorporate what they know of me into conversation: “Oh yeah, you’re that cohesive guy.” Or “We practice continuity in our communications just like you prescribe in your book.” I allow these malapropos without a fuss (though you might detect some angst in my face if you look closely) and actually honor them as high compliments, since they at least got the first letter correct.

Mind you, I also have high regard for cohesiveness and continuity and practice both regularly. But they are different from coherence.

Continuity is more about consistency over time. Continuity evokes an unbroken chain of events or actions. And when something is disrupted by a non sequitur, we think of a continuity “error.” Continuity in this sense is very closely related to coherence, but it’s not quite the same.

Cohesion or cohesiveness, either way, is all about glue and stickiness. Does this campaign hold together? Does this look like it’s part of the same whole? Cohesion is a wonderful thing, too. We want our efforts, experiences and communications to reflect a similarity, to hold together. That’s a symptom of coherence, too.

But coherence goes beyond both of these and asks, Does this add up? From what I know about this institution, can this be true? From my experiences with your organization, does this seem authentic? Coherence is more a measure of the degree of transparency you are willing to project in order to build the trust of your customers. It’s about telling the truth in a way that builds confidence toward a meaningful exchange.

All three of these words are related and easily confused. So, if you see me on the street, and want to start a conversation, I’d appreciate it if you’d use “coherence” properly in a sentence. But if you don’t, I’ll understand. Any of these words will do.

-Rick Bailey is the principal and founder of Richard Harrison Bailey/The Agency and author of Coherence: How Telling the Truth Will Advance Your Cause (and Save the World). Follow him on Twitter @RichardHBailey.