Accidents are inevitable, so we prepare for them.
Good communication planning includes preemptive actions to build stakeholder trust and acceptance. We work hard to make sure our neighbors and communities understand that we are trying to be good neighbors. We bank on their goodwill and make sure we’re ready to respond to the inevitable accident. We plan and prepare.
Our messaging is designed to support our response efforts, to remind stakeholders of our commitment to our community. We prepare key messages to use when needed; messages to assure affected people that we are responding as well as we can. We plan and prepare for community acceptance of our activities.
And as the joke says; “Sixty percent of the time it works all of the time.”
Inevitably and despite our plans and preparation, in a response a common foe may raise its head. Individuals don’t accept our response actions, or they don’t accept our role, or they decide to be offended, or they overreact and out-shout our message. They get afraid and frustrated that they’re not being cared for. And outrage rises – pent up frustration, anger, fear self-righteousness, enmity; the list reads like a list of ‘thou shalt nots’. But it is real, and often based on reality.
The ‘outrage balloon’ begins to fill with pent up FODU – Fear, Outrage, Doubt, Uncertainty. It grows, and grows, looming over the response and our reputation. One thing is certain – a bloated outrage balloon usually bursts with uncontrollable force, damaging everything in its path; response efforts, reputation, community trust, even the well-meaning, honest and skilled responders desperately trying to resolve the situation.
How do we prevent the damage? We’ve got to burst the balloon early. How do we identify a filling outrage balloon and how do we burst it?
Identifying outrage
Consider your own anger. How does your behavior change when you become increasingly frustrated or angry? We get loud, or we go silent. We stop listening. We raise our voices. We start talking over other people. We attack the messenger. We argue. We accuse. We demand. We walk out. We hang up.
Organizations and groups of people act like…. people. So if you’re hearing anger and seeing it, you’ve likely got outrage swelling. Don’t delay identification of outrage. Better to diagnose it too early, than too late.
Addressing Outrage
Deal Quickly: We don’t have a lot of time to deal with outrage – it forms quickly, and will multiply faster than we can keep up.
Deal Clearly: Identify the specific outrage you want to address, and address it. As with relationships, there’s no such thing as a general apology: Exactly what did you do wrong? How did you offend?
Deal honestly: Own what you own. Admit when you’re wrong. Take responsibility. No weaseling. Don’t blast past the apology part. Let it set in that you are seriously sorry for what happened. A long moment of silence is good at this point. Don’t rush your stakeholders to accept your apology. Don’t jump past it to how good you’re going to be. Listen for a minute.
A word about ‘I’m sorry’: An apology is not always an expression of guilt. We are all sorry for a lot of things we didn’t cause. You can be sorry for the impact of an incident even if you’re not sure you caused it. One certain outrage-accelerator is your refusal to acknowledge it: “We are truly sorry for the inconvenience this has caused” sounds, and is, far more caring than “We can’t comment on the cause (read: blame for) of this event at this time”.
Promise better: They may not believe you, but you need to express intent for the future. Keep it simple and short, and leave it with your listeners. Don’t cover up good intentions with blather. Keep it simple and direct. There will be plenty of time to talk about it more.
Stop and listen: Give time for understanding. Let your listeners react. Accept further upset. Thank them for sharing. Promise additional information when you have it. Remind them of resources available.
Rocket science?
I know, this isn’t rocket science. We all know to do this. But stress, attack and fatigue can strip us of our sense. It’s easy to do, but it’s also easy to forget. It’s helpful to plan for, so add ‘Apology’ to your crisis communication strategy and plan – and make sure the approval dragon is dealt with.
A Good Example
Boeing has had their share of challenges that have culminated in a challenging (to say the least) stakeholder communication environment. Safe to say that the outrage balloon is always out of the package, ready to be inflated! Even in this environment, can the outrage balloon be burst in time?
Consider their recent run-in with noise restrictions: A delayed series of engine test runs resulted in widespread community concern. You can see the outrage coming in the first paragraphs of the Seattle Times article:
“Residents near Boeing Field, from Georgetown to the west and as far as Mercer Island to the east, were blitzed with long and extraordinarily loud jet engine noise late Tuesday night.
The culprit was Boeing, which broke a community noise curfew by running protracted engine runs on its new 777-9X at the north end of the airfield until after midnight.”
Think of where this could have gone for Boeing. But it didn’t and it hasn’t. Why not? Look at what Boeing said: “There is no excuse,” said Boeing spokesman Bernard Choi. “We’re apologizing to nearby residents.”
A rapid, direct and simple addressing of the issue. Accepting responsibility, acknowledging fault and expressing an apology. And later, another statement from Boeing: “This was not a normal occurrence and we are making adjustments to prevent it from happening in the future”.
Simple, direct and honest. And the outrage balloon is burst. Good work, Boeing!
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