As Covid stays with us, here are concepts to remember when you are communicating in the weeks and months ahead.
• Communicating in a crisis needs to be more “concentrated” than normal. Messages have to be direct, clearly written, easy to understand, short and focused only on the most important issues for the short term.
• In business, there is rarely a clear line between caution and over-reacting. Therefore, it’s better to choose “conservatively safe” instead of ”sure hope it doesn’t get worse”. Spell out how your actions now will keep things from getting out of control later.
• In order to cut through all of the noise, materials must directly address STAKEHOLDER NEEDS. Do not just recite what the organization knows about itself. It’s about the audience(s); not about you.
Regardless of how you are communicating, be sure to always emphasize that employee and customer safety comes first as we move forward – and mean it.