A few simple admonitions

My friend Cori Keeton Pope concluded a recent blog post with a bit of sage advice for corporate communications and PR teams:

If you don’t know the answer, don’t make it up. Especially in a crisis.

It’s common sense, but this advice often seems to take people by surprise when it comes up in media training or crisis communications.

I try to take a common sense approach to crisis communications, and while the crises I usually deal with are not life-threatening — mostly service interruptions for enterprise solutions — I think the principles are applicable in many situations.*

Building on Cori’s point, here are a few simple admonitions for communicators next time the flux discombolulaters go offline or the wheels fly off the flywheel.

1. Don’t make things up. Despite best intentions, you’ll look bad when the truth comes to light. Will people think you’re ignorant or a liar? Which is worse? At that point, does it even matter? Either way, you’ll look bad. There’s no shame in admitting you don’t know something.
2. Stick to the facts. As a corollary to the previous point, talk about what you know to be true. I know it’s tempting to float a theory, particularly when your audience is demanding answers. Don’t speculate.
3. Keep it simple. I’ve written about simplicity before. Don’t try to bury your message in a lot of mumbo-jumbo. Ditch the jargon and acronyms. Explain how the situation affects your audience using terms they will understand.
4. Be human. You’re talking to people, remember? Show some personality, or at least a little empathy. Does anybody trust faceless corporations anymore?
5. Apologize like you mean it. Don’t offer a milquetoast apology laden with passive, conditional language. Take responsibility and acknowledge that people are upset, inconvenienced, whatever the case may be. Let them know you’re going to make things right.
6. Focus on what’s relevant. Don’t spam your audience with useless updates. Tell them that you know something is wrong and that you’re working to fix it, then tell them you fixed it.** This isn’t the time to show people how your sausage is made.

This isn’t an exhaustive list or a definitive guide to crisis communications — just a few rules of thumb for communicating about minor crises in the business world. If they’re helpful, you’re welcome. If you have other suggestions, I’d love to hear them.

1. * If your situation is life-threatening, look for help elsewhere. Go! Now! [↩]
2. ** Granted, if your situation persists for a long time, you might want to consider periodic updates, but use common sense. [↩]