Communicating in a time of uncertainty and fatigue

We’ve all been there, trying to write a difficult message to the organization in a manner that softens the blow, whatever the blow may be. There have been times when I’ve written and rewritten something six times, knowing that it still needed to go through legal, compliance and anyone in the executive suite who needed to see it. With each round of edits, I wondered how much more diluted the message had become. An uneasy feeling would overcome me when I thought about how our audience would react to it.  

If you work in corporate communications, you know exactly what feeling I’m talking about. And, if you’re like most, you’re probably feeling it more than ever right now.  

The external environment your audience is living in is causing some anxiety. Layoffs are up and prices on everyday items are steadily rising, too. People are stressed out and on edge when they come to the office, and then they see a message in their inbox about restructuring, leadership change, a new system rollout or a policy update. The first thing they wonder is how it will affect them.  

We’re living in a landscape of uncertainty and fatigue, but corporate communicators still need to communicate. So, what does that look like when external conditions make it harder than it should be? 

The corporate voice trap 

It’s curious to me that when things get challenging, we tend to pull toward safe language like “As we navigate the evolving landscape,” or “In light of the current market conditions,” or even “We remain committed to our strategic vision.” You know exactly what I’m talking about; you’ve probably written some of these sentences (I know I have). They exist for a reason: they’re vetted, they’re defensible and they don’t overpromise. But the dichotomy is that this “safe” language doesn’t make the person reading it feel safe. Instead, it feels distant and, in a time when your audience already feels anxious and on edge, distance is the last thing you want to convey.  

So, the language that’s designed to protect the organization often does the opposite. I think that when people feel they’re being managed rather than spoken to on an even level, trust erodes. One way to protect the company from this is to ask yourself, with every piece of content, "Does this sound human?" and "How would I respond to receiving it?" The answer will help guide you.  

Change, whatever it is, is hard 

A plant closure is not the same thing as a new software roll-out. The emotional weight for each is different, as is the impact to stakeholders. As such, the communication for each needs to be different, too. A plant closure has a much bigger impact than new software to deal with. Still, for both scenarios, questions need to be answered like, why is this happening, how did you decide this, what does it mean for me, and does leadership understand or care how this affects me? These questions appear regardless of the size or scale of the announcement.  

So, whether it’s a significant organizational change you’re communicating or something that appears relatively minor, you want to answer those questions, not solely describe the change. Otherwise, your audience may answer the questions themselves and in uncertain times like the one we’re presently in, there may not be much optimism in their answers.   

The method is the message 

How news is delivered is as important as the news itself. The channel is a signal, telling people how much thought went into the communication. And as a result, the channel also signals how much the audience is valued and how seriously leadership takes the news. As an example, a restructuring announced via a company-wide email is wildly different from one delivered through manager-led conversations, even if the words used are the same.  

But there are also unintentional signals, too, such as cutting off someone’s building access before an announcement goes out. Of course, this isn’t a communication failure per se, but it’s part of the communication experience, and, regardless of the circumstances, corporate communicators want the experience to be as positive as possible.  

Directly and indirectly impacted 

Of course, the bulk of the attention goes to those directly impacted by a change, but are you also paying attention to those who aren’t? Because they need your attention, too. Whether it’s those who remain after a layoff, colleagues whose roles aren’t changing in a reorg or customers who aren’t affected by a policy shift, they all see the change and draw their own conclusions and ask themselves if they can still trust the organization.  

Acknowledging this audience and showing empathy goes a long way, letting them know you see them and understand they’re impacted, too, even if not directly.  

Don’t get me wrong; none of this is easy in the best of times. You’re often working with incomplete information, compressed timelines and a message that’s been shaped by a dozen hands, and that’s before it hits your desk. But it’s incumbent on communicators who navigate this landscape to always remember who’s on the other end of the communication. It’s a person who’s trying to make sense in a land of uncertainty, and when something comes across their desk, they’re looking to you for something real.  

That’s always been the role. Now, it matters even more.