covid-19 communications Archives

covid-19 communications, covid-19 response, covid-19 virus communications, crisis communications

5 Ways to Write With Care in a Crisis

1. Acknowledge and adapt to now – To write with care, mention the unusual nature of the crisis. Describe how your business or organization has adapted its operations in response. Note the trying situation in your emails, social media or blog posts, policy updates, etc., and how you’re responding to it. Not doing so can come across as insensitive or being out of touch with the times.

Examples of appropriate messaging:

2. Cut – Your readers might feel overwhelmed. Make your content easy to focus on and understand. Use short words, sentences, and paragraphs, especially when you relay complex information. Sentences under 16 words help; word processors can check readability levels (often the Flesch-Kincaid score), as can WordPress plug-ins such as Yoast. Group related text together with bullet points for better scanning. If you’ll include numbers, add fewer of them. Use images, infographics, or video in place of long text.

3. Confirm – If you’re reporting the latest news, triple-check your sources to enhance your credibility.

4. “Re-humanize” yourself – Show some warmth and personalize your communications. Wish your audience well. Express your gratitude — “I appreciate what you did” — to strengthen your relationships. As appropriate, stay upbeat. Share good news. Encourage. Now’s not the time to sound robotic and lapse into industry jargon, clichés, hard to pronounce words, or business-ese. Write with care like you speak: the “real” you, not the role you play. Use “I” less and “you” more.

5. Be there while you write with care – Ask questions. Provide help or information. Connect with your audience through surveys, social media, email, message boards, or other platforms. This is a great time to feature others’ stories about how they’re dealing with the crisis. Alleviate fears and concerns. Be supportive. Reassure readers that though we’re traveling through new territory, we will end the journey together and you’ll be ready to help them then and now.

How has the current crisis affected your communication with others?

P.S. Could your writing use a touch of “class”? Now’s the time to brush up on your skills. Find out more about Classy Writing coaching and consultation sessions available in the comfort of your home.

Quotes

“In this tumultuous time, leading your organization with purpose and vision is more important than ever. Make sure you’re keeping sight of your most important goals and constantly working to fulfill them.” ~ Darren Richards, “Business Management During COVID-19,” Tucker/Hall, Inc.

“Uncertain times elevate the importance of clear, credible communication from business leaders.” ~ Colorado Chamber of Commerce and Linhart PR, “Coronavirus (COVID-19): A Business Leader’s Guide to Effective Crisis Communications”

Comments? Suggestions? Need help with your crisis communications? Contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com

covid-19 communications, covid-19 virus communications

5 Tips for Your COVID-19 Virus Communications

1. Proper capitalization and abbreviation – In your COVID-19 virus communications, do you capitalize the “c” in coronavirus? It depends. My Apple iPhone’s autocorrect feature does. But, not everyone capitalizes the term. For instance, the esteemed “Washington Post” and “New York Times” newspapers don’t. Grammar Girl, Mignon Fogarty, reasons that you capitalize the words for diseases named after regions or people only (e.g., Ebola, Alzheimer’s).

Publications or organizations may have their own in-house guidelines on how to refer to the virus. “The Associated Press Stylebook” and “The Chicago Manual of Style” are popular guides. The AP refers to the virus as COVID-19, which, they reason, is in line with references to the SARS and MERS viruses. It also believes that “COVID-19 virus” is proper shorthand rather than “a new virus called COVID-19.”

2. Terminology – In your COVID-19 virus communications, is the coronavirus outbreak an epidemic or a pandemic? Is it a disease or a virus? Grammar Girl believes the issue of whether it’s an epidemic or a pandemic is subjective, but leans toward the latter. Regarding the type of illness, she defers to the World Health Organization (WHO), which describes it as “coronavirus disease,” while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) call it “coronavirus disease 2019.”

For Search Engine Optimization (SEO) purposes, as this article attests, if you write about it, you may want to refer to “the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)” to distinguish it from other coronaviruses. The article offers more advice on using specific virus-related keywords in your online publications.

3. Tone – For the most part, if possible, strive for a friendly and upbeat tone, and in more serious situations, remain neutral while you stick to the facts. Focusing on the negative can lead to sensationalism, especially in your COVID-19 virus communications. The mass media sometimes goes to the extreme, which attracts attention and sells ads. As a result, some people can become agitated and fearful; others may see the dramatization as hype and disregard it. Yes, it’s helpful to inform, but not to exaggerate details for effect. It’s better to broadcast with a balanced viewpoint.

4. Humor – The phrase “going viral” has now taken on more than one meaning. Many of us don’t want to offend our readers — doing so not only affects a business or organization and its reputation, but it’s not nice. Whether to make light of life during a pandemic if you’re not a comedian or a satirist is a tough call. To some people, it’s inappropriate. It depends on your audience, how well you know them, and the context. In all cases, use your best judgment. When in doubt, leave it out.

5. Promoting during a crisis – I’m running into this issue. If you advertise a product or service that’s helpful or necessary during this pandemic, some may see that as trying to capitalize on the crisis. To me, it’s only inappropriate if it’s blatant, like if your fundraiser won’t donate to those in need as a result of the pandemic, or if you’re raising the price of toilet paper and other necessities. Wish people well, note that it’s a challenging time, and tell them how you’re handling the situation while you inform them about how you can still help them.

Which challenges have you faced in your coronavirus communications? Feel free to comment below.

Quotes

“Referring to it as the COVID-19 virus is a shorthand akin to referring to the virus that causes AIDS as the AIDS virus, which we and others have done for years. Or, think of it this way: I might refer to the big cat, but I wouldn’t say the cat called Big.” ~ The Associated Press, “Ask the Editor”

“Much like HIV is the name of the virus that causes AIDS, SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19.” ~ Grammar Girl (Mignon Fogarty)

Comments? Suggestions? Need help with your COVID-19 virus communications? Contact me.

Michelle Troutman
classywriting.com