Brian Cowen proudly declared he did not have a communications advisor. Instead, he rarely gave interviews, when he did speak it was often at ill-judged times, spoke incoherently and used phrases and political jargon that did not resonant with the general public. Communication was not his strong point and he choose to do it as little as possible.
1. Communicate Regularly. Golden Rule Number 1, that means the good, the bad and the ugly. Hold, at least, quarterly State Of The Nation press conferences where the public are informed of progress, or lack of, reasons and solutions. When there's a crisis or a developing situation address the public. If there is no absolute solution or strategies are being assessed, then tell them that.People trust people that are open and honest. No one has all the answers but everyone hates to feel ignored.
2. Who Are You Talking To? Be mindful of who you are talking to when being interviewed. While speaking to media you are speaking to the nation. We DO NOT want to hear opposition bashing, we DO NOT want to hear childish blaming or self indulgent back-patting. That's boring and irrelevant to us. We want to hear clear and simple answers and concrete reasons for decisions.
3. Keep Your Dignity and Respect the People. Keep a personal sense of dignity and act morally. If you do screw up, which invariably you will, have an Action Plan in place, address the situation immediately, be upfront, apologise and move on. DON'T look for weak excuses, DON'T lie, DON'T blame game (see Point 2) and DON'T ignore (see Point 1). People respect this.
Most business owners would know these basic rules of communication and basic emotional intelligence. Rules apply to addressing share holders, staff and clients.
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