“I think it’s absolutely critical as a leader to deliver an honest message, a message that contains all the parts, the good and the bad.”
-Dr. John AgwunobiFlorida State Health Director during the 2001 anthrax attacks.
The 1918 influenza pandemic created terror in the hearts of the population primarily because the messages being sent to the public were sanitized and downplayed in an attempt to reassure the public; unfortunately, it failed.[1]
Pandemics are a huge threat even in this so-called post-modern and post-information age. We are not yet smart enough that we can be sure of our ability to adequately respond to a disaster. The Narrator of The War of the Worlds (2005) said: “They were undone, destroyed, after all the weapons and devices of man had failed, by the tiniest creatures that God in his wisdom put upon this earth.”[2]It is these smaller things that threaten us as well. Small, big and many things in between threaten our very existence.
But do we panic? Do not! We plan everything we can plan; we prepare; we respond as adequately as we can; and then we recover.
One of the primary keys is proper communication. The following principle is a great starting guide when delivering messages in your crisis:
REMEMBER THE STARCC PRINCIPLE
In a crisis, your message to employees and the media should be:
1. Simple: Scared people don’t want to hear big words.
Only the clearest and most concise messages will do. It’s amazing how simple, yet effective we can make our messages. Unfortunately, we often have to employ ‘elegant simplicity’ to achieve this.[3]that is, there is some pain involved in ‘uncomplexing’ the message. People deserve to hear things clearly.
2. timely: Scared people want information now.
Why would we delay? It makes no more sense than to protect our own fears; it does not speak to concern for potential caregivers and people responsible for people who would be homeless without adequate information. Information is power, but only when it is current.
3. Accurate: Scared people won’t understand the nuances, so make it clear.
Great care must be taken to get the right message across in the right way so that it is not or cannot be misunderstood. We can assume by default that people will usually be confused. Therefore, there is no place to communicate intricacies and intricacies, so we do not waste our time or theirs trying. We must be functional.
4. Relevant: Answer your questions and take action steps.
Make it real for people who need real information. Again, information is power only if it provides real things to do that really help. We don’t tell people to do things they can’t do or don’t know how to do.
5. Believable: Empathy and openness are the keys to credibility.
We put ourselves in their shoes. It’s not hard to understand where people are if we do this. It is a necessary step. We are not only credible in our position to do our job; we must also promote our credibility by truly understanding where everyone fits in and communicating with honesty and integrity accordingly.
6. Consistent: The slightest change in the message is annoying.[4]
This is the hardest thing to accomplish because communicating with different parties dictates different messages, right? Wrong. We may need to communicate different things and in different ways, varying the message as new information comes to light, but the essence of the message must be the same; there must be a common thread that links everything, the thread that speaks of the consistency of the information. A great danger is that people assume or believe, based on inconsistent information, that the agencies or their employers are lying or not telling the whole truth. People are quick to assume the worst.
This entire article was constructed to support the principles and intent of the US Department of Homeland Security document, Pandemic Influenza – Preparedness, Response, and Recovery: Guide to Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources. This document was published on September 19, 2006.
Copyright © 2008, SJ Wickham. All rights reserved throughout the world.
[1] US Department Of Homeland Security, Pandemic Influenza – Preparedness, Response, and Recovery: Guide to Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (Publication date: September 19, 2006), p. 72. Quoted from John Barry, The Great Influenza: The epic story of the deadliest plague in history, (Penguin Books, 2004), p. 462.
[2] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0407304/quotes
[3] “When we achieve simplicity in a way that includes all the complex issues that need to be taken into account we have achieved elegant simplicity.Quoted from: Wickham, S. (2008, August 10). ‘Elegant simplicity’ – Getting it done. Retrieved October 4, 2008 from http://ezinearticles.com/?Elegant-Simplicity—Achieving-It&id=1397709
[4] Ibid, http://www.ready.gov/business/_downloads/pandemic_influenza.pdf … All STARCC Principle attributable to this site.
