The Criticality Of Crisis Communications
Everyone has experienced a disaster in his or her life, and if they haven’t yet they will in the future. Crises are a sad fact of life but one thing that can aggravate them to a dangerous level is poor communication. Tragedies wreak havoc on our emotions and can make us very volatile to be around, it is these times in which we are most prone to making mistakes. Because of this proper communication, often times referred to, as crisis communication, is needed. Crisis communication is a special type of communication separate from what we use on a day-to-day basis. It emphasizes empathy and word choice and a slew of other important aspect that are critical to communicating during a crisis. There are really two types of crisis, personal tragedy and environmental crisis. Crisis communication in a situation where the crisis happens to be personal tragedy can be the most difficult. These situations are common when a loved one passes away or when someone becomes injured due to an accident. Our emotions flare and make us very unreasonable and the only way to cut through this is with crisis communication. When dealing with personal tragedy always make sure you think about what you are about to say. Empathy is imperative because in their heightened state of sensitivity, even the smallest unintended communication error can cause much unneeded grief. Crisis communication is one skill that is hard to prepare for and unfortunately it’s often times one of the most important.
The second type of crisis communication is dealing with environmental disasters. This doesn’t necessarily mean there is a natural disaster but it more so refers to our surroundings. Good examples of this type of crisis are an earthquake or a car accident. While no one may be hurt the situation is considered a high stress situation with a huge risk for something to go wrong. This type of crisis communication has a strong emphasis on clarity. When engaging in crisis communication regarding your surroundings, always choose your words carefully and precisely. In coordination with careful word choice always make sure the person you are communicating with understands and make sure to ask questions and clarify if need be. While crisis communication regarding ones surroundings is less severe than the one involving personal tragedy, it’s just as important because it can quickly lead to it. Crisis communication is a great tool to have. It’s unlikely that anyone will live his or her whole life without having one crisis or another. A good idea is to sit down with those you’re likely to experience the crisis with and create fake scenarios and act them out. It may seem silly at the time but if and when it does in the future, it can greatly reduce the errors you make with your crisis communication and that can result in saved lives both emotionally and physically. Crisis communication is one of the least known but most important types of communication in existence. |