There is no doubt that our society is currently facing some sad and challenging issues, ranging from floods and lives lost to job losses, business and organizational closings, and more.
A couple of years ago, I attended a business meeting where a local elected official was speaking. Before the meeting started, there was much discussion about a recent gubernatorial order related to firearms restrictions. The official who spoke began his talk by stating his position on the order from the Governor, followed by comments from other participants in the room.
During the presentation, there was an elephant in the room that carried significant weight: empathy was missing from him and others. No one acknowledged that the order had come after a shooting outside of a local baseball stadium that killed an 11-year-old boy the previous week.
Let’s talk about empathy or the lack thereof in this instance — Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Empathy also plays a critical part in internal and external communications. Whether you are leading a staff meeting, giving a public presentation or speech, or speaking with the media, it is critical to pause and take a minute at the beginning to acknowledge that something bad has happened and is on the audience’s mind. Otherwise, while the example and presentation above touched on essential topics, it also left a residual effect of feeling tone-deaf or cold due to the concurrent events.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
Do
- Show care, demonstrate that their situation moves you.
- Focus on how a crisis or challenge might be affecting people.
- Acknowledge actual feelings of sadness, frustration, and anxiety.
- Use phrases like “Rest assured” and “We will get through this” to encourage resilience and demonstrate your commitment to responsible corporate stewardship.
- Be forthcoming, transparent, and truthful about bad news, making clear the difference between what is known and unknown.
- Show ample appreciation for your team by including details that describe their admirable and impactful qualities.
Don’t
- Focus on how a crisis might be affecting company profits or other financial measures.
- Presume to know your team’s reactions to a challenge or jump in too quickly to “solve the problem.”
- Use scripts (though you can rely on notes). Your remarks should sound completely authentic, and the act of reading — regardless of the words — makes a message sound more staged.
- Try to put a happy spin on crises or oversell “silver linings” to tragic events. They will ring false, damaging credibility and trust.
- Talk at length about the difficult decisions you had to make. At this point, it’s not all about you.
Not ignoring the elephant in the room and using empathy in your communications are among the many skills I coach clients on in my consulting work and communications workshops.
Do you or your organization need meeting facilitation, a speaker, or communications coaching? Schedule a consultation to learn how AMM Communications can support your mission.