Lives and serious money have been lost because people communicated poorly, or not at all. We often fail to tell people about things that affect them.
A government, company or other initiative may be working around the clock and produce a fine outcome, but if the beneficiaries and stakeholders are not informed they are unlikely to appreciate the end-result. They may even oppose or sabotage it.
This is especially true in a crisis when there is uncertainty and anxiety. While decision makers may find an operational, technical, legal or financial solution to the crisis, they forget that communication is the very flipside of that coin.
With a little palm-held device that can Google, mail, send and receive videos and pictures and can hold video or voice calls we really do have the means to communicate. Most people have access to information, mobile transactions, but also opinions, fake news and campaigns for and against. Online media can virally build millions of followers for or against a cause within days, sometimes hours.
There are more than five billion unique mobile users worldwide and more than 2.7 billion of them use smartphones, says tech source Data Reportal. The average user will tap, swipe, and click their phone 2,617 times a day. The average time spent on smartphones is 2hrs 51mins a day. Worldwide, more people now own a cell phone than a toothbrush. 52% of the world’s population are mobile internet users.
With people this informed and aware, those in authority, even if they have the law on their side, have to think and plan for how their product, service, decision, rule or new development should be communicated.
Currently, Zimbabwe is doing better with COVID-19 vaccinations than South Africa. Our World in Data said that as at 4 April 2021 only 0,45% of the South African population had been vaccinated – light years away from achieving herd immunity or warding off another wave.
The government has not adequately explained this slow roll-out. There is confusion about lockdown rules, the vaccination programme and no logical reasons for certain decisions and discrepancies: open-air sports events limited to 250 spectators make no sense when public transport, taxis, funerals and social gatherings happen without social distancing, masks and ventilation. When certain government officials explained that the hard ban on alcohol caused a significant drop in trauma injuries in hospitals, thereby creating more capacity to treat COVID patients, it started to make sense.
When a government has a poor track record of action and delivery and many of its citizens believe there are no consequences for state capture and patent crimes, it loses credibility – a vital requirement to communicate successfully and positively influence behaviour.
An amount of R21 billion was invested in phase 1 of SA’s e-toll system. SANRAL consulted, but never engaged in meaningful dialogue and change management with news and social media or affected road users. The result was a revolt, non-payment, a government bail-out and a court case. The judges told SANRAL their communication for such a major new system was deficient.
Pres Mbeki’s government failed to introduce a timely anti-retroviral programme for HIV AIDS and more than 330 000 died, said the Harvard School of Public Medicine. Dr Deborah Birx, former White House COVID coordinator, says that the first 100 000 COVID-deaths in the USA was the threshold. The rest of the 460 000 fatalities could have been avoided or mitigated. Why? Because former president Trump, by his own admission, understated the seriousness of the pandemic and politicised mask wearing and social distancing.
When international guests landed at Waterkloof military air base for that famous Sun City Gupta wedding, South Africans responded with outrage. Some two dozen spokespersons from different departments made media statements about the matter. There were contradictions and lies.
Other badly-handled matters included the sell-off of strategic oil reserves to benefit some individuals, the arms deal and crises in state-owned enterprises and state capture. Those who protest injustice with violence can articulate their anger, but fail to convince university funders and government why they burn libraries and clinics and attack ambulance and fire crews.
Clicks handled the TreSemmé hair ad grovelingly and badly, the listeriosis debate got worse when those at the centre just seemed out of touch with public concerns and focused on factory processes instead of human caring.
Did good communication help achieve success? Certainly. In the first democratic election in 1994 the Independent Electoral Commission commissioned a mass voter education campaign in all eleven languages within the critical four months of preparation, a system new to millions and the country in tense turmoil. The result: over 86% turnout, less than 1% spoiled ballots and peace.
Years later, the long-term and short-term insurance, banking and legal aid industries were directed by government to educate all civil servants to ensure they make informed decisions about the products these industries offer and, according to government, “over-sold”. Government threatened to stop premium deductions from civil service salaries. The industries commissioned an education intervention with built-in research, was executed to the full satisfaction of government.
Communication is the baking powder in the cake, not the icing on top. You cannot sell a bad cake. You have to consider communication at the source of decision-making: if we take this decision, how will our citizens, customers, community, news and social media react? Do we have a proper answer? Can we explain to them why this is necessary and/or will benefit them?
When you communicate you have to answer five basic questions: What? Where? When? Why? How? This will satisfy the initial information needs.
Then the listener would want to know: “How does it affect me? What do you want me to do? Where can I find more information or help?
Always start with the objective of your communication: What do you want people to think and do when you have spoken to them?
You therefore have to do homework about your audience. Who are they? What do they know? What do they expect to hear? What questions, problems and objections could they have?
Also keep it simple (no jargon, buzzwords, acronyms), give the bigger picture (context) and repeat, repeat, repeat.
You have two ears and one mouth – use them in that ratio. Be interested, not interesting. Are you really listening or just thinking of your response? You are not just transmitting data from your phone or laptop. You are communicating with a real, live fellow human being. Find the “People skills” key on your keyboard!
When you have to communicate something important to many, have a communication plan:
- Objectives (what do you want to achieve?);
- Target audiences (whom are you speaking to?);
- Channels (which communication channels will your chosen target audience read, listen to or watch?);
- Key messages (the three or four messages you will repeat constantly, despite using different words);
- Content (what is relevant, newsworthy, well-presented and valuable for the recipient?);
- Timing (when do you communicate and when do you need to repeat?);
- Also cross-reference your various communication channels to strengthen and widen the impact of you message.
Communication is a leadership skill. It is too important to be left only to communicators. Those whose decisions, rules, products and services affect people’s lives can expect anger if they communicate poorly or not at all.
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Pieter Cronjé is an independent international consultant in communication, business growth, branding and leadership. He has career experience in journalism, broadcasting, the energy industry, financial services and government. He was involved in major, multi-disciplinary projects, was Communication Director for South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994, the City of Cape Town, the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and travelled to Brazil and Russia to assist them with their respective FIFA World Cups. Visit 
