Chapter Five - Principles of a Successful Communications Strategy

Abstract

“Principles of a Successful Crisis Communications Strategy” A successful disaster communications strategy is built on a set of basic principles that ensure that emergency managers effectively communicate with their customers and partners in all four phases of emergency management—mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. These principles provide guidance to emergency managers and other officials involved in emergency operations and programs on how to talk to their customers, how to ensure that they can talk to their customers, what to say and what not to say, how to be accurate and timely, when to talk, and how to connect to their customers when you talk. These principles combine basic directions on communicating effectively (i.e., be available, ensure there are adequate resources for communications, invest in media training) with a set of values (i.e., don’t lie, be informed, don’t make promises you can’t keep) that taken together should effectively guide emergency managers and others in communicating emergency management messages.