There is no good reason to NOT communicate

Reviewing a ragan.com article today, by Rob Biesenbach, struck a familiar chord with me. I've been bitten by some of these "6 lame excuses for not communicating," and would like to expound. One such reason is, "We can make it better." This is what happens with communications sometimes that get stuck in a never-ending review cycle. EVERYBODY thinks they're an editor. While some edits are well worth the wait, in general when non-editors try and re-write your stuff, it doesn't make the communication better at all - and often makes it worse. So, write well, choose a trustworthy (and quick) editor, and get the communication off your desk.

Another reason for not communicating is "we don't have all the information." This one bit me badly on 9/11. I'll never forget that it took the entire day to get a communication OK'd to send out. By then most employees had seen the news over and over throughout the day, talked to their families and other sources, and were on their way home. Ridiculous - and sad.

"The lawyers won't let us" is another reason, and I believe that - at least sometimes - if you know darn well that what you're saying is right, it's better to ask forgiveness than permission. Obviously you don't want to get your butt in a sling - so you'd better be certain you know what you're talking about, and that it won't land the company in hot water.

"They'll as a question we can't answer." Oh well! Biesenbach is right - no one is expected to know everything. There may be some questions you will have to get back to people on. It's better to be communicating what you know, than nothing at all.

They've already been told? That's a great one. Even if "they" have, if "they" are your company's employees, they need to hear it from their company's leaders, who may not do it without a nudge from PR.

We don't have time? Not a good excuse at all. Nobody has time - we all make time to do the things that are important. And as a PR professional - what is more important than communicating?