The political machine is a completely unique thing, founded upon layers of history and tradition. The way governments and political parties communicate is a legacy of this foundation. Sometimes it is worthy of great respect, but all too often political communication misses an opportunity to evolve and maintain a truly meaningful dialogue with its audience.
Organisations across society, from leading tech companies to cultural institutions, recognise their responsibility to their audiences and there are a set of principles on which they base a significant proportion of their communications when difficult situations arise. Developed from a wealth of experience and keen awareness of ever-evolving best practice, these principles relate to all types of crisis communications whether you are communicating with other organisations, individuals or stakeholder groups:
Be proactive. The more front-footed you are with communications, the less space there will be for speculation and rumour.
Communicate regularly and clearly. People will appreciate the effort you put into communicating with them.
Be transparent. People will quickly realise if what you’re saying doesn’t match their experience.
Admit when you got it wrong and be clear how you will get it right in the future. Base this on facts and data to instil confidence in your audience that you have a good understanding of the situation.
Give people a bit more detail than they need to know, but give them the tools to make sense of it and highlight the key things they should take away.
These are strong foundations for any communications effort, but they are especially crucial in situations where people are relying on timely and accurate information.