The promise in a critical situation or crisis
In my training as a crisis manager, crisis communication is one of the most important topics in crisis management. Because every crisis is also a communication crisis. I have learned that crisis communication makes no promises!
Steff Berger talks to an attendee after her presentation Expect the Unexpected – Anti Terror Awareness Strategies for Events at IBTM China in Beijing 2019
Because crises are always dynamic and can develop in many different directions at lightning speed. Too many uncertain variables arise in a critical situation or crisis that are not visible at first glance. In my 19 years of experience in the MICE industry, I have repeatedly experienced this dynamic, the speed of information and the equally unexpected side scenes that can quickly become a new main scene in a critical situation or crisis.
But what exactly is a promise?
The promise is a unilateral personal commitment. ‘I give you my word! About a subsequent action or a future event. The promise is made by one person to one or more persons.
During the pandemic, government representatives around the world have made promises.
What do these promises do to the population in times of pandemic? These government promises mean trust, (an interesting article on trust in leadership has been published by the Harvard Business Review: The 3 Elements of Trust (hbr.org)) Hope for change, a positive outcome. The promise also associates – the situation is under control, the feeling that someone is taking responsibility, the end of this situation is in sight! The government has planned an appropriate solution!
A broken promise, empty words cause disappointment, usually even deep disappointment, in those who firmly believed in the promise. However, the reactions can also turn into anger, annoyance, fear or frustration. Concentrated emotions of each individual and the many!
The more often the promise is broken, the less trust people have in that person or that government.
I don’t want to be so hard on the government representatives*, this pandemic is an insane challenge and probably hardly anyone wants to take on this job from us right now.
And the promises made are certainly linked to the hope and desire to keep the promise made, because the loss of trust and reputation, especially in a crisis, is usually irreparable! But every good crisis communication should be familiar with the ‘no-promise code’.
But can we make a promise in a crisis without making a promise?
Yes, we can, if we look again at the definition of promise, then it is about a subsequent action, future event or rather we could also say it is about a future goal or result. We can communicate solution-oriented steps that correspond to the current situation and publish them with the desire for target planning. Transparency also means saying that, especially in a pandemic, too many uncertain parameters make it impossible to make a promise or give a definite time frame. But that we do everything we can to implement the measures and plans. And that is good crisis management with good crisis communication.
But what can we learn from this current situation? And what should we consciously consider in our event crisis communication in future?
Here are my lessons learned on the subject of making promises in a critical situation or crisis:
- Crises are always dynamic! Many factors are usually unknown to us or we cannot influence them. There is a high risk that we will not be able to keep our promise in a critical situation or crisis.
- A broken promise can irreparably damage the trust of participants*, exhibitors*, employees* and stakeholders* and can cause lasting reputational damage to the event and the organization.
- Our crisis communication should be structured according to this simple checklist:
-
- True
- According to situation
- Unambiguous
- Transparent
- Fact-based
- Crisis communication should be prepared in the knowledge that there is clearly no promise in our statements.
- Develop a media strategy for our company or press spokesperson that respects the ‘Do Not Promise Code’.
