5 ways to communicate calm in a crisis

A McKesson comms exec shares her crisis tips during pandemic and beyond.

How to lead amid COVID-19

Needless to say, we’re not working in BAU (business as usual) times.

Thanks to COVID-19, social justice issues and even new WFH realities, communicators of all stripes are thrust into the roles of problem solver and crisis planner.

So how do you react without scrambling?

“Focus on communicating with care, compassion and clarity,” said Nancy Bistritz-Balkan, director of cybersecurity communications at McKesson in Ragan’s recent “New Roles for Communicators” webinar.

“For example, our CEO has been very accessible and human during this crisis,” she said. “He relies on candor over charisma to communicate the facts and that builds trust.”

She also shared these five key principles of communicating calm amid uncertain times:

What are your top takeaways from the COVID-19 crisis so far? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

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