Communicating in a Crisis

In a crisis due to a disaster or terrorist act, delivering accurate and timely messages that inform people without frightening them requires careful preparation that should be part of all emergency planning. Inadequate preparation can contribute to confusion and misunderstanding between public officials and the media, and to fear-driven, potentially damaging reactions from the public. Effective communication can promote the trust and confidence that are vital to calming any crisis situations.

To help, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, assisted by SAMHSA, has produced a publication, Communicating in a Crisis: Risk Communication Guidelines for Public Officials.

Understanding the Media

The booklet explains that journalists have six key questions they must answer in their stories: who, when, where, what, how, and why. They work under demanding time and space constraints. Effective communication comes in adapting to these limitations. The booklet advises public officials to:

• Be sure of your facts and be able to cite sources and key statistics.

• Have information available in concise fact sheets.

• Make sure your primary message gets delivered in the time allowed.

• Discuss what you know, not what you think.

• Familiarize yourself with opinions and positions contrary to yours and be able to answer questions about them.

The booklet emphasizes that risk communication efforts should receive the same degree of preparation as other elements of emergency planning. To plan, the booklet suggests the following:

• Form a risk communications team and assign responsibilities.

• Decide who will speak to the media.

• Develop and maintain media lists as well as lists of experts for media use.

• Plan press briefing logistics ahead of time.

• Anticipate information needs and develop background materials.

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Communication Fundamentals

Before issuing any comment, public officials should clarify their communication goals and key messages. Goals and messages should be simple, straightforward, and realistic.

For example, the goal could be "to ease public concern." The associated messages would be "the risk is low," "the illness is treatable," and "symptoms are easily recognized."

Staying "on message" is a form of artful repetition to ensure that your messages are heard. To stay on message, the booklet advises:

• Raise your points often.

• Take opportunities to begin or end statements with a reiteration of your message.

• Don't repeat your message word for word.

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Scientific and Technical Information

The booklet advises that when officials must communicate about complex scientific issues, they should use clear, non-technical language so that information is more accessible to the public.

To communicate such information:

• Use consistent terms throughout a crisis situation.

• Avoid acronyms and jargon.

• Use familiar frames of reference and accurate analogies.

• Develop graphs and charts that illustrate your points and use them to support key messages.

Other sections of the booklet include "Correcting Errors and Rumor Control," "Assessing Personal Strengths and Weaknesses," "Building Support from Colleagues and Other Spokespersons," and "Recognizing Opportunities to Speak Out." Suggested reading materials, resources, and references are presented in lists at the back.

To obtain copies of the booklet, contact SAMHSA's National Mental Health Services Knowledge Exchange Network at P.O. Box 42490, Washington, DC 20015. Telephone: 1 (800) 789-CMHS (2647) or 1 (888) 889-2647 (TTY). Web access: www.riskcommunication.samhsa.gov/index.htm.

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