Why the Smartest Leaders Respond to Crisis By Saying Less

You’ve heard of Occam’s Razor and Murphy’s Law, right? Maybe even the Peter Principle and the Pareto Principle? Well, in the domain of public relations — particularly in its subdomain of crisis communications — there’s something called the “Say Less Principle,” and in my 20+ years of continually learning in this field, I’ve learned to embrace it.

“Really?” you may ask. “In an industry devoted to communication about client branding, messaging and reputation, limited communication is the way to go?”

I know it sounds counterintuitive, so let me clarify: When a PR crisis situation hits you or your company, what you say is far more important than how much you say. And when determining what to say, there are tenets you can follow to protect your brand and keep it intact.

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Why there’s a need for the ‘Say Less’ Principle

When news of a crisis affecting you is spreading like wildfire in the media (social and otherwise), it’s natural to instinctively want to jump in and clarify everything, defending your brand and trying to take control of the situation. But this is extremely difficult to do when emotions are running high and you’re feeling overwhelmed by the wave of false rumors and by the threat that others will “fill in the blanks” for you if you don’t do so yourself.

As I remind my clients all the time, though, responding quickly isn’t the same as responding wisely. Facts take precedence over speed. Tone is everything. And saying too much too soon can actually escalate the situation instead of alleviating it.

That’s why the Say Less Principle prioritizes restraint above all else. By employing this principle, you can approach your response with an informed strategy; you can replace urgency with accuracy; and you can be driven by intention rather than impulsivity.

The three pillars of the ‘Say Less’ Principle

To regain control over the narrative and preserve your credibility, I advise following these three guidelines to avoid the most common pitfalls of crisis communications: speculation, information overload, and retraction.

1. Refrain from speculation

In the midst of a crisis, do not capitulate to the temptation to speculate. Speculating on what might have happened or who could be to blame can be interpreted as “making things up as you go” or scapegoating. Likewise, making promises you may not be able to keep or announcing solutions before you’re aware of the full extent of the problem can cause confusion and lead to audience distrust.

Instead, when a crisis breaks, communicate only what you know to be true. Don’t invent possible facts to report until you have actual facts to report. Don’t issue a statement until it can be verified.

Audiences are quick to sniff out evasion, excuses and lack of accountability these days, and when they sense it, it can undermine public perception about your honesty and capability. Bottom line: Always say less until you have something real and meaningful to convey.

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2. Don’t overload the public with information

Undercommunication runs the risk of people doubting your integrity, yes. But overcommunication can be a larger misstep, as it can “spread the mess” around even further and, more importantly, dilute the core message you want to send.

So stay focused on that core message, demonstrating your concern for the issue and that you’re taking it seriously without going off on tangents about every little related detail or tidbit. Drowning your audience in a barrage of words through extremely long explanatory posts or lengthy apology videos just adds “noise” — oversaturating their attention and adding fluff to what you want to be substantial and reliable information.

A crisis communication campaign aims to course-correct and take hold of the narrative in your own hands. To do so effectively, be direct, be succinct and be transparent. Editing your responses and reactions will keep everyone involved on message and on point.

3. Eliminate the need for a retraction

When panic leads to speculation and information overload, a call for a retraction a little farther down the road can result. You don’t want this.

True, people sometimes get things wrong, you may sometimes be given incomplete information, and you therefore might unintentionally miscommunicate with your public once in a while. However, having to publish a retraction or a modified statement causes suspicion and doubt in those following your story, and once trust is eroded, it’s far more challenging to earn it back than it is to never lose it in the first place.

So how can you eliminate the need for a retraction? Any and all information you’re planning on sharing must be thoroughly fact-checked before it is disseminated in any form. Check once. Check twice. Make sure your communications will solidly stand up to scrutiny before publishing a single word.

Yes, this can mean longer wait times until your audience hears from you, but it’s crucial that what they do hear is truthful and verifiable. Trust is the most valuable commodity in the mainstream media today — don’t endanger it with faulty information that needs to be corrected later.

A professional PR team can help

The Say Less Principle is so powerful because it halts people from rushing to fill the silence, from overexplaining and from providing incomplete answers. In turn, it protects your reputation, grants you a little breathing room to strategize wisely and keeps your message clean and clear.

But applying this principle can take finesse and a precise touch developed over years of experience. Entrepreneurs and business owners don’t have to navigate the public relations terrain on their own. Luckily, there are lots of professionals and firms out there (like mine!) that are on call to facilitate and expedite crisis management — a truly tricky part of the current PR landscape.

When and if you find yourself dealing with a crisis, remember to refrain from speculating, oversharing and risking retraction. There’s a lot more to crisis communications than just these three guidelines, but if you incorporate them into your base plan, you’ll lay a sound foundation that you can stand on.