COVID-19: A lesson in crisis communications.

I’m a journalist by trade and have worked in and around the news media for many years, so I’ve been watching COVID-19 messaging with great interest these past few weeks.

I spent a lot of time over the weekend looking at who is saying what and how credible these messages appear.

If we look at world leaders like Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, I think we have an abject lesson in what not to do. Closer to home, the conflicting messages coming from the likes of Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Chief Medical Officer also leave me pondering what it takes to get it right.

At its core, good communication requires only a handful of things.

Make it timely. People need information now, not when all the facts are known. In a pandemic situation, waiting can mean the difference between life and death. This is a rolling situation where updates need to be given often.

Make it accessible. Regardless of location, age, language or ability, messages need to be accessible and issued in ways that reach as many people as possible.

Make it simple. Even complex situations can be distilled into simple take home messages that are not only easy to understand but easy to action. Good communicators break down the most complicated ideas into bite-sized pieces. The ABC’s Coronacast is a good example breaking things down into simple terms.

Make it accurate. This can be difficult when things are happening so fast, but people are relying on accurate information from leaders. The golden rule here is if you don’t know, don’t speculate. Better to admit you don’t know than spread inaccurate information.

Make it consistent. The easiest way to achieve this is to stay strictly on message and repeat. Often. Consistency  must be in both word and deed. Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy cannot shake hands with journalists on the set of Insiders at one moment and then call for social distancing the next. People see the inconsistencies and that leads to further confusion.

I know it’s fiction, but I’m a huge fan of The West Wing and I keep thinking of Press Secretary C.J Cregg talking about Mad Cow Disease. The President’s advisors wanted to sit tight until they new more information. C.J’s responds with:

"The public will not forgive a President who withheld information that could have helped them or saved lives… In a crisis people need to feel like soldiers not victims. Information breeds confidence. Silence breeds fear.”

Now is the time to be communicating, clearly and simply. Silence does nothing to help us, but neither does a message that is inaccurate, inaccessible or inconsistent.  

Peita