Since the disasters won’t stop–oil spills, financial meltdowns, epically stressful lives–we have to be ready.
I’ve had the privilege to help clean up after hurricanes Hugo and Katrina. I’ve worked with people in crisis since I began my career in public service. As I’ve worked on communication with the spectrum of organizations from political to professional to corporate, I’ve learned something essential: The people who prepare for the things that will go wrong live better lives.
Not only do they have the ability to take care of themselves, they have the resources to support others and have the biggest impact on the situations that need leadership. What they all know how to do is communicate clearly when things go wrong.
Think of the people you work with every day. Are they ready for the angry client, the production error, or the internal, relational crisis that will happen no matter how hard you work to prevent it?
Think of your community. Is it prepared with people who know how to keep people safe, calm, and direct them in times of disaster?
Most people freeze and lose their confidence during a crisis because they don’t know what to say and do in those moments. What would happen if the people at your workplace and where you live had the words and the action plan, to lead when the unusual strikes?
When preparing how to communicate and act during a disaster is a regular part of every day, everyone communicates better on ordinary days, and, on the rare and vital days when the way people communicate decides the future of of our world, you will be ready.
