Crisis communication is an art form and one of the things that I do best. As a changemaker, I have dealt with a series of crisis in a variety of roles throughout my career. I’ve learned what to do and what not to do. Like so many other things in my career, I’ve learned the hard way. But doing so has empowered me to develop a crisis communication strategy that has served me well and been met with success during the last 10 years of my
1. First, if you cannot communicate calmly, wait until you can or assign someone else. I have learned that the key to communicating calmly is to work through your emotions related to the issue. Guilt, shame, or anger can negatively impact our ability to communicate calmly. I found this out, 10 years ago, when I attempted to meet with my staff the day I found out that a third of them had gone to the board chair with false statements and accusations in an attempt to get me fired. In my head, I was going to go in and positively address the team. I had planned stating that there would not be any repruccisons and that I purposely told the board that I did not want to know who was in that meeting. I had planned on saying that we would work together to create a positive culture to align with the positive influence that we wish to have on clients. I planned on taking the high road and saying that I realize that my high standards and new strategies may have been difficult to adhere and that my focus on improving client outcomes may have overrun my focus on curating our culture during the transition. I thought I was ready. But, when I stood up and looked out on the team that I’d worked with and trained, the team that I’d increased pay for to ensure a living wage, created a bonus structure to reward high performance, and went to bat to maintain high quality PPO insurance when an HMO option would have been far less expensive, I felt betrayed. I felt angry. I felt sad. Needless to say, my well-planned speech went out the door. While I said most of the words that I planned. I added a couple of extras and my delivery wasn’t the best. Thankfully, I had a colleague who told me that I came across a little harsh. While I was initially defensive, I realized that she was right and that I was hurt and too hurt to address the incident. I should have waited. So, I encourage you to address your feelings. If you are hurt, say that you are hurt. If you are disappointed, admit it. Get it out in a safe space in a raw and unfiltered form first. Book a therapy session, phone a friend, or write in your journal. But, say all the things and feel all the emotions so you can think calmly in public.
2. Next, be calculating. Think about what you want to say, why you want to say it, and the outcomes you want to achieve. As Steven Covey said, “begin with the end in mind.” If you don’t know what you want to accomplish, wait to speak until you do. When it comes to communicating significant funding loss, I recommend that you simply state (1) what happened, (2) why it happened, (3) your course of action, (4) the purpose and positive client outcomes associated with the course of action, (5) how others can help to ensure those outcomes. Once you’ve created your message, then ask yourself, “What questions would this presentation invoke if I were in the audience?” Write them all down and go back and include information to address those questions while creating a potential questions list that you can review with your board and leadership team prior to issuing your statement. Not only will this exercise ensure that your statement is thorough, it will also increase your confidence.
3. Finally, be concise. After you’ve created your statement and talking points and finished your potential questions and responses list. Go through it and remove as many unnecessary words and statements as possible. This does two things. First, it helps to ensure clarity. The simplier and more streamlined your statements, the easier they are to follow. Next, it helps you to remember your talking points when they are clear and concise. It is easier to communicate with confidence when the talking points aren’t too complex. You don’t want to look like you have to pause to remember your lines when you are speaking. You want it to flow naturally. Therefore simplicity helps you and the audience.
Now let’s review. When communicating significant funding loss, or crisis in general, it is important to remember three things: Be clear. Be calculating. Be concise. And, if you need help, get it. Sometimes the crisis is too fresh and the emotions are too high to successfully go through this exercise alone.
Kim Williams Consulting is always here to help. Visit kimwconsulting.com to learn how. Now, let me end with this word of encouragement.
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