How (not) to communicate during a crisis
This is a 4-minute read. My words will take you 90 seconds to read.
If you are in a crisis, you have to communicate clearly. The only thing someone cares about is, "How am I impacted?" That's all your reader wants to know. That's the baseline.
If you are not clear, you throw gasoline on a fire. People panic, and rumors spread. The effects that come of it are beyond what you can possibly know.
Worse yet is when a writer has a different goal than their audience. The writer thinks they are being clear - and often they are! It's just not the clarity the reader is looking for.
For instance, let's take Delta. Like many airline companies, Delta is providing vouchers for people who booked travel around our health crisis. They have taken a stand to get out front of COVID-19, and that is excellent...even before the NBA tipped everything over. Good work, Delta.
But when I read an email from their CEO - Ed Bastian - earlier this week, I cringed. I hated it, and I hate hating things.
Why?
The entire piece was about Delta.
I will paste it here for your enjoyment. Tell me how many paragraphs it takes for you to find out what happens to you. Skip past the indent if you please.
Dear Valued Customer,
As a valued member of the Delta family, I appreciate the trust you place in us and our people worldwide when you travel.
In the current environment, it’s important for all of us to travel smarter and more consciously. That’s why I want to personally update you on the situation with COVID-19 (the coronavirus) and the steps we are taking to ensure your health and safety in your travels.
For more than a decade, Delta has been preparing for such a scenario. As a global airline, we have strong relationships in place with health experts including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and local health authorities worldwide. We are in constant contact with them to make sure our policies and procedures meet or exceed their guidelines.
Operations are our lifeblood. We’ve learned from past experience with outbreaks like H1N1 and Ebola, and have continually refined and improved our ability to protect our customers. That includes the way we circulate clean and fresh air in our aircraft with highly advanced HEPA filters, the new fogging procedures in our cleaning process, how we sanitize aircraft between flights and how we respond if a customer is displaying symptoms.
A full report on the measures Delta is taking to help you have a healthy flying experience is available here. It outlines our expanded cleaning and disinfecting at our airports and on board our aircraft; distribution of hand sanitizer and amenity kits to help customers stay clean; and the technology on our aircraft to filter and replace cabin air.
A command center in Atlanta has been stood up to guide our response, leading our global team of thousands of Delta professionals dedicated to this effort. That includes our reservations specialists handling thousands of incoming calls, our flight crews and Airport Customer Service (ACS) agents taking extra care of our customers, and our TechOps and operations coordination teams keeping the airline moving. This world-class group of airline employees has your back, and I have never been prouder of the women and men of Delta.
To ensure you always have access to the latest information and guidance, we have a website on the COVID-19 situation that is continually being updated with cleaning policies and actions we’re implementing to keep you safe, ways you can stay healthy while flying, and changes to our flight schedules and waiver information. Transparency is one of our core values, and we are committed to keeping you fully informed as the situation evolves.
While we’re committed to providing you with information you need to make informed decisions around your travel, we also understand the need for flexibility based on your individual circumstances. To make sure you can travel with confidence, we’re offering flexible waivers, and we’ve also adjusted our network in response to guidance from the State Department.
We understand that in today’s world, travel is fundamental to our business and our lives, which is why it can’t – and shouldn’t – simply stop. I believe Delta’s mission of connecting the world and creating opportunities is never more important than at times like this.
Thank you for your continued trust in Delta, and I look forward to seeing you in my own travels throughout the year.
Sincerely,
Ed Bastian
CEO
For those of you who gave up - it's 8 paragraphs. You don't find out how you are affected until 80% of the piece is complete.
Before that, there's chest puffing, a story of Delta's commitment, details on what they're doing to make the best decisions, and on. Some of it is extremely valuable information!
And yet, Ed, you buried the lede. Just tell me how I'm impacted first, and then share why.
Which tells me that none of this is about me. It's all about Delta.
The great thing about reading people's work is that you can intuit how they think.
Here's what I presume Ed's goal was:
Show how great Delta is and what they're doing to combat COVID-19.
Here's what my goal in reading is:
Know if I'm getting my flight refunded.
You did well in your actions, Ed Bastian. I am proud of your decision.
I even understand your words. As someone fearing for his people @Delta, I’m sure you are overwhelmed with the feeling of needing to stay afloat.
But 'tis not the time to share like you did here. This is communication 101, and it's even more important in a crisis. #writebetter
A quick word on Coronavirus:
The tipping point in the States was Wednesday night (3/11) in Oklahoma City. Adam Silver saw what happened, made a final decision, and changed the course of the US. Bravo.
From there, basically everything has shut down. Those things that are still open - like Chicago Public Schools on Monday, somehow - will surely revise their plans.
Now we see how things play out. Likely similar to what we have seen around the world…
Stay healthy. The earlier we take steps, the better off we all are.
And use your time to do great things, whatever that may be to you.