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Key Takeaways It’s human nature to want to act immediately and alleviate pressure when you find yourself in hot water.
But sharing news that isn’t complete yet or telling the public too much too soon can turn up the temperature even more.
Avoid the need for a public retraction later by accurately, concisely and clearly communicating with your audience from the start.
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.
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