As a professional communicator, I have thought a lot about where I was on Sept. 11, 2001 and what information I knew when, and why. A high-school senior, I heard the news from my classmates who watched it happen as part of a history class that turned on the TV. Following that class, the decision was made to turn off all TVs and read classes an extremely vague statement.
It wasn’t something I would point to as a good example of crisis comms. I also appreciate the reality they were facing. School systems are a great example of institutions layered with bureaucracy, which makes quick action on messaging a challenge. They represent kids like my Kindergartener, who do not have the ability to absorb that news, all the way up to “kids” old enough to enlist to fight for our country.
Much has changed since that time and schools have ways of communicating directly with parents now through cell phones, which were just starting to be in the hands of students like me at that time (“for emergency calls only, Kate!”). Even with all the change, there are some situations, like 9/11, that your crisis plan just doesn’t imagine. Not everything can have a perfect communications outcome, because sometimes the world shocks us to our core. It’s about what we do next that matters.
For me, the next steps happened at home, with my family. We listened, talked, debated, questioned, and reasoned. Consider this a reminder to talk to your kids. Teach them how to ask questions and communicate. Who knows, maybe they will make a career of it. At the very least, they will be able to engage in healthy disagreement.
