March Madness is canceled. Devastating.
In lieu of the 2020 NCAA Basketball, I’m hosting my own tournament.
During the White House, State, and local press conferences on coranvirus, I yell at the television, “Don’t speculate!” “Great answer, boom!” “Go back to the message!” “No, why did you say that?”
I watch the reporters. “Why did they ask that?” “That’s already been said!”
Who is standing behind the Governor? What message does that send? What does the Governor say compared to another official?
I read articles and listen to Podcasts. What medium is most effective to communicate technical information like this? Check out the use of charts and graphs, which work, which don’t?
I examine the COVID-19 e-mails pushed out by seemingly every agency and company. I asked myself, “What’s the message?” “Why did they send this?” “How could this have been done better?” I mean, why did I get a COVID message from Spin, the scooter company?
Public affairs folks, this is our tournament. There is a lot of communication going on. There are audiences thirsty for information. Communication is one way our nation is going to reduce the effects of this crisis.
These free lessons are available to you. If you stay in the military, you’ll participate in a crisis. Why not see how this one is managed for yourself? Consider the details. Watch the exchanges. This is real and you’ll likely be doing something like it sometime in your career.
Listening to the pundits talk about how communication is going won’t get you there – see it for yourself.
This is March Madness. What’s your bracket look like?
Photo by Spc. Michael Bezares
