Once you put aside all of the social media and traditional media stuff, there are really only two things I write about here. What to say in an emergency, and what to say before an emergency. I’m trying to explore what makes us successful pre-emergency communicators and what makes us successful emergency communicators. A lot of times, I put forward the idea that being successful before the emergency makes it more likely that you will be successful during the emergency. I’m still having difficulty teasing out if good communicators just are good at what they do or if, by dint of their pre-emergency communication, have laid the groundwork that facilitates successful emergency communication.

For all of the “be first, be right, be open,” there is one thing, though, that seems to underpin both situations: trustworthiness.

A trustworthy communicator is someone that people will listen to and integrate into their lives before an emergency. And while those folks tend to be trustworthy in general, they also create an environment where people can believe them in an emergency and accept their word at face value. Like I said, it could be one or the other reason, but is probably some combination of both.

Yesterday, TheFireTracker passed along an article out of the Wall Street Journal that I could tell he was smitten with. He rarely gushes, but he did here, and I can see why. The article was exceptional. While I encourage you to read the whole thing, here’s a quick rundown of the five main points:

Show that your interests are the same.

Seems simple enough, but how many times have we heard CEOs publicly wishing “for their lives back.” Your public needs to know that you’re working toward a mutually beneficial goal, and for the reasons they consider to be right. Have goals, “we’re working to…,” and all that. It goes a long way.

Demonstrate concern for others.

This one is easy. In fact, every single media and public information trainer out there (even the really bad ones) will tell you that one of your first statements in an emergency should express empathy. They do that because it helps build trustworthiness. It shows that you are concerned about others. Do it.

Deliver on your promises.

If you’re not going to have that fire under control, don’t say it. If you’re not going to have vaccine ready, don’t say that. For every promise we make—and break—we lose a bit more credibility. And this one isn’t just about shoring up before a flood, this is about showing up to give a promised preparedness talk at the senior center, this is about following up with a community advocate. If you can prove that you can deliver brochures on a sunny day, I’m more likely to believe you’ll deliver sandbags on a rainy day.

Be consistent and honest.

This is another one that media trainers will tell you. If you don’t know yet, say, “we don’t know yet.” Constantly altering worst-case scenarios make you look like you’re underplaying a disaster. The Coast Guard, in a training I attended recently, said that in ship-based oil spills, they always release the full capacity of the ship to the media. This is how bad it could be, but we’re working extremely hard to keep that from happening. And thus, the message is always consistent and honest. One number, unchanging, grounded in absolute reality.

Communicate frequently, clearly and openly.

Well, if you haven’t heard me say this a million times, you haven’t been paying attention. The key to a successful communication effort is communication. Say the same thing a dozen times to make sure new folks can get caught up. Integrate new developments into your spiel and repeat them, too. Be open, be honest, and be sure to be available. It seems like a small thing, but when your agency is understaffed and overwhelmed, sometimes you forget that just telling the media something once doesn’t work. Your spokesperson should not be operational. It’s okay to have operational folks and SMEs do some of the talking, but when they go back to the response, someone still needs to be there pushing your messages out.

Like Jay-Z said, “Trust, it’s a word you seldom hear from us.” But in reality, it may very well be the most important thing.