“I think it is absolutely essential as a leader to deliver an honest message, a message that contains all the parts, the good and the bad.”

-Dr. Juan agwunobi, Director of Health for the State of Florida during the 2001 anthrax attacks.

The 1918 influenza pandemic created terror in the hearts of the population primarily because messages addressed to the public were disinfected and minimized in an attempt to reassure the public; unfortunately, it backfired.[1]

Pandemics are a huge threat even in this so-called postmodern and post-information age. We are not yet so smart that we cannot even 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 placed on this earth.”[2]It is these smaller things that also threaten us. Small, large and many things in between threaten our very existence.

But do we panic? No! We plan everything we can plan; we prepare; we respond in the most appropriate way possible; and then we recover.

One of the primary keys is proper communication. The following principle is an excellent guide to get you started transmitting 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 is amazing how simple, but 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 “de-complexing” the message. People deserve to hear things clearly.

2. Timely: Scared people want information now.

Why would we delay? It has no other sense than to protect our own fears; it does not speak of concern for potential caregivers and those responsible for those who would be fired without proper information. Information is power, but only when it is current.

3. Exact: Scared people won’t understand nuances, so make that clear.

Great care must be taken to get the right message across in the right way so that it is not misinterpreted or misinterpreted. We can assume the default that people will normally get confused. Therefore, there is no room to communicate complexities and complexities, so we do not waste our time or theirs trying. We must be functional.

4. Relevant: Answer their questions and take the next 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 that they can’t do or don’t know how to do.

5. Credible: Empathy and frankness are the keys to credibility.

We put ourselves in their shoes. It is not difficult 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 and communicating with honesty and integrity accordingly.

6. Consist: The slightest change in the message is disturbing.[4]

This is the hardest thing to do because communicating with different parties dictates different messages, right? Incorrect. 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 ties it all together: the thread that speaks of the coherence of the information. A great danger is making people assume or believe, based on inconsistent information, that the agencies or their employer are lying or not telling the whole truth. People are quick to assume the worst.

This entire article was written to support the principles and intent of the US Department of Homeland Security document, Pandemic Flu: Preparedness, Response, and Recovery: A 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 Flu: Preparedness, Response, and Recovery: A Guide to Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (Date of publication: September 19, 2006), p. 72. Quoted from John Barry, The Big Flu: The Epic Story of History’s Deadliest Plague, (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’: how to do it. 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 … Complete STARCC principle attributable to this site.