What do you say during a crisis?
In the middle of this crazy, unprecedented and uncertain time, there are a couple of questions that all of us are asking: What do we say? How do we say it?
Communicators, business owners, friends, family members – we’re all searching for the right thing to say and the best way to say it.
As a good friend said, we just learned here in Illinois that we’re basically looking at a stay-at-home order until there’s a coronavirus vaccine.
Now, I tend to be a positive person, which may surprise some people given my background in crisis communications. But I’ve always said crisis communications people are eternal optimists! Let’s face it, we have to be in order to keep fighting like we do.
But even for people who are typically, and sometimes annoyingly, positive, this is getting even tougher than we thought it would be.
And we’re crisis people – we expect the worst!
So as a communicator in a never-before-seen situation, I go back to: What do you say? How do you say it?
The short answer is nobody really knows right now. And that can be a terrifying idea.
Optimism?
People want optimism right now, but only in certain ways. They’re looking for glimmers of hope and smalls wins each day to hold on to.
We all naturally seek balance in our lives, which means as we’re dealing with an inherently negative event like this crisis, a wave of optimism might be exactly what we need, if it’s done the right way.
But for communicators, how do we walk that fine line between optimism and annoyingly bubbly or tone deaf?
How do we inspire in a time of bleakness without preaching at people to be inspired?
In other words: What do you say? How do you say it?
The best answer is – we set the expectation and lay the foundation for the communication. We find the commonality and focus on what brings us together. And we find the meaning and purpose in that.
Each of us are experiencing this crisis in a different way – some in small apartments, other homeschooling kids while running businesses. None of us can escape it.
Commonality
But the commonality is that we’re all experiencing this crisis.
The same is true for everyone you’re communicating with. And that makes it easier to understand what they are going through, and empathy is crucial to communicating effectively during a crisis.
We need to inspire, but not at the cost of ignoring the reality of what we’re facing. We need to motivate, but also be accepting of the toll that this crisis is having on each and every one of us.
We need to push forward, but accept that some days will be two steps back.
Whether you’re focused on internal or external audiences, employees or clients, friends or family, it’s incredibly difficult to decide what to say and how to say it.
But, start by helping them realize you understand what they are going through.
Frame this situation for what it is, and then pivot to what it CAN BE.
Accept the negative, recognize it, and then come together around this terrible situation so you can connect and push forward.
Get RADD
I’ve also been discussing how we find success following the Coronavirus crisis through the RADD approach, which is Recognize, Adapt, Develop, and Deploy. Check out our previous posts to see how you can succeed with the RADD process:
– Get RADD And Plan For Success Following Coronavirus Crisis
– Prepare for Success and Get RADD, Part 1: Recognize
– Finding Success By Getting RADD, Part 2: Adapt
– Get RADD, Part 3: Develop Plans For Success
– Deploying Your RADD Communications Plan
Here are some additional resources for your crisis planning efforts as you adapt to your new worlds:
– There’s Still Time To Communicate During the Coronavirus Crisis
– Isolation Is Actually Connecting Us In Meaningful Ways
– Is Pitching Media A Good Idea During COVID-19?
– Internal Communications During A Crisis
– A Meaningful Message, Or Pandering Without Purpose
And here are some additional blogs to help with your strategic communications planning:
– Pitching Media Like The Pros
– 7 Tips for Successful Media Interviews
– Don’t Let Perfect Be The Enemy Of Effective
– Wake Up. Kick Ass. Repeat.
– How to Create Content That Engages Audiences and Builds Brand Trust Quickly
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