377 Secrets to effective COVID communications
on a steaming hot day this past august
a colleague of mine posted this image in
a groove chat
asking does anyone know why these eggs i
bought look cloudy
some of us suspected the eggs might have
gone bad
then came the light bulb moment it
turned out he had tried to disinfect
all groceries by baking all of them
under the sun for hours
and the atlanta summer heat had
effectively cooked the eggs
while his intense protective measures
may be questionable
this got me thinking why do people do
what they do
in the pandemic and how can we find the
right message
to influence those around us in this
talk
i’d like to share with you how we can
begin nudging people
towards the desired behavior change with
just
two key steps a minimum viable
message and effective delivery
you may have heard of a minimum viable
product or
mvp in software development
a minimum viable product is one that is
just good enough
to be usable a minimum viable message
is similar while no communication can
guarantee
a desired behavior change we need a
message
just good enough for the time being to
begin
moving the needle and to find the
minimum
viable message we will need to answer
three key questions
what do we want the people to know
how do we want them to feel
and what do we need them to do
when crafted properly this message will
help people
take the pandemic seriously feel
empowered to act and know exactly what
to do
and why first and foremost we need
people to take the pandemic seriously
in other words we must communicate
covet as a universal threat the
perceived threat of a public health
crisis
is determined by two factors it’s
perceived
susceptibility and severity
for example you may be highly
susceptible to poland allergy in spring
but the symptoms likely won’t be
life-threatening
on the other hand you’re extremely
unlikely to be struck by lightning
but if you did the severity of the
strike
will most likely lead to death
some people have what psychologists
refer to as optimism
bias where they think they themselves
are less likely to experience an active
event
how can we help these people to see the
threat of covet
and begin moving them up the chart
well to those who think that they’re
just meeting with their close social
circles
in holiday gathering help them
understand
that they are in fact exposing
themselves to
much bigger risk that are unseen to
those who think that
they’re healthy and they’ll just have
flu symptoms
help them understand that covet had
killed
more people in the u.s than flu did
in the last five years combined but
nothing speaks more to the threat of
kovit when it truly hits home
this past march i was shocked to learn
about the covet diagnosis
of las vega a world-renowned
mountaineer and an alum of my alma mater
agnes scott college speaking of being
healthy
this is her after reaching the top of
mount everest
a few years ago yet this was how she
described
her experience with covet i was barely
breathing
i felt like someone put a vacuum cleaner
inside my mouth
and was sucking all the wind and life
force out of me
phosphia had since recovered and is back
being a warrior
but next time when you see someone who
dismisses covet threat
share the facts the numbers and the
personal account
of your experience to help them take the
pandemic
more seriously
now that we’ve communicated the threat
of covid
we must also empower people to act
good health communication will always
have a fear element
such as this one from dr awadi before
thanksgiving
better to have a zoom thanksgiving than
an icu christmas
however when the fear message goes too
far
instead of feeling mobilized people feel
doomed to empower others to act
we must first increase their perceived
control
of the pandemic in early phase of the
pandemic
people were inundated with
misinformation
about the virus causing the world health
organization
to label such phenomenon as an info
damic
within a pandemic to counter
misinformation
the who ran a series of mythbusters
to address common myths adding pepper to
your soup may help with the taste
but it certainly doesn’t help with coved
and never
ever drink bleach sometimes
people spread rumors in search for an
explanation
and a solution ultimately helping them
to feel more in control
of the situation therefore
leaders must help bring clarity in this
time
by sharing what actions are being taken
to control the pandemic
be careful this is not to promise we
have the situation
under control rather highlight actions
being taken
explain decision making process and set
realistic expectations here is an
example of new zealand prime minister
justin arden
introducing the country’s alert system
there are four levels to the alert
system
at each level there are things we need
you to do
to keep you safe and there are things
the government will do
too and alert level four this is where
we have sustained transmission
this is where we eliminate contact with
each other all together
we keep essential services going but we
ask everyone to stay at home
until covert 19 is back under control
it’s important to note that with every
level
supermarkets and essential services like
access to pharmaceuticals
will continue shop normally
if we do that our supermarkets will have
time
to restock their shelves wow i feel so
reassured and informed just after one
minute
frequent and transparent communications
demonstrates competent
leadership and restores public trust
at times of crisis it also
increases the public’s perceived control
of the pandemic
and ultimately motivates them to take
action
after reassuring the public and
empowering them to act
we must also provide clear guidance on
what to do
and why some pandemic communication
didn’t work as well
because it was too complicated take a
look at this example
if you look close enough at this
decision tree
you’ll notice that all it says is to
wear a mask
in public in fact the instructions
should be so
clear that the question of whether
you’ve abided by the instruction
can be answered by a simple yes or no
consider these two messages stay home
versus stay alert the first one
is very clear whereas the second one
leaves you wonder
what do i need to do to stay alert
good health communications not only
explain and
translate complex science into easy to
digest
information for the public but also
explains the why behind the action
or its perceived benefits here’s how
johns hopkins school of public health
explained the benefits of lockdown
starting by
explaining the purpose of locking down
followed by successful examples from
other countries and finishing with risk
of opening prematurely
analogies can also be very helpful in
visualizing
a complex concept especially amongst
populations with lower health literacy
the swiss cheese metaphor for example is
a
perfect example of encouraging people
to take multiple preventive measures
you cannot reduce your risk of infection
to zero
by wearing a mask or washing your hands
a lot or staying six feet away from
others
think of each of them though as a slice
of swiss
cheese they’re not perfect they’ve got
holes
but slices of swiss cheese have holes in
different spots
and as you stack them the holes become
covered
it’s the same with these layers wearing
a mask washing your hands social
distancing
as you stack up the layers the more
complete
the protection becomes it’s important
that we remind the public
to stay open-minded and be flexible
since the beginning of the pandemic
research findings have been published at
an
unprecedented rate as we know more about
the virus
and it’s critical we adjust the guidance
quickly
to reflect the latest evidence once you
have your
minimum viable message created it should
also
be delivered effectively and the rule of
7 can help the minimum viable message
must be delivered
7 times seven different ways
communities school campuses dining
venues
should consider promoting covet policies
repeatedly
through yard signs and posters creating
strong
and consistent impression to those
entering the space
governments and policy makers should
drive transparency by sharing latest
covet information promptly consider
conducting
daily even twice a day media briefings
and update the online database
frequently
to allow on-demand access this helps the
government
to establish a consistent communication
cadence
in fact in case you missed this new york
governor andrew
cuomo received an emmy award yes
an emmy for his 111
daily covet briefings where according to
the committee
he had effectively created television
show
with characters plot lines and stories
of success
and failure repetition alone however
is not enough the message must also be
communicated
in different forms via different
channels
and this starts with knowing your
audience
once you determine the audience there
are numerous ways to get creative with
the message
for example you can consider using humor
how do
you have a fret party during covid i was
genuinely curious
to my disappointment the answer was
quite simple
some sports found themselves in sweet
spot
in this pandemic you can also consider
using visual cues
like this example for social distancing
are these for mask wearing including one
right here
indicator some countries even created
songs for hand washing and in fact
turned them into tick-tock
dance challenge
[Music]
[Music]
notice how a good communication not only
spreads
organically on social media but can be
further promoted by celebrities
to reach a wider audience which points
to the importance of a good
messenger for example w.h.o partnered
with fifa
so you have messi telling you to avoid
touching your face
across face communities religious
leaders are uniquely positioned
to raise awareness about the virus
promote
safety measures and bring people
together
under the universal value of shared
humanity
when china built the makeshift hospitals
it live streamed the entire process
and attracted over 44 million viewers to
watch
at the same time those who got stuck
at home resorted to the live streaming
to not only
see the response in action but also
found a sense of ownership
in this response in fact viewers
even came up with nicknames for the
machineries on site
you got mr forkey forgetful blue
which appears to be confused sometimes
and the blend bro
which is a concrete mixer and finally
the message must also be delivered with
compassion
as u.n general assembly president bande
called out
we must remember that the threat and
enemy
is the virus not the people
or countries or their religion in
summary
if you remember nothing from this talk i
hope you take away this
to begin moving the needles and nudge
people toward behavior change
we should have a minimum viable message
that explains what we want people
to know feel and do and the message
should be delivered
seven times seven different ways as we
continue to battle this pandemic and
future public health crises
i invite you to do two things
to help pull back the misinformation
and push forward new norms help
flatten the info dynamic curve stop a
rumor from reaching a group chat
double check the facts and check the
news sources
and be an influencer to promote credible
health information
in your social circle also push forward
the new norms to those in doubt remind
them
that their decision to wear a mask today
could have enormous ripple effect
and the lives they are saving could be
their own to those frustrated
for not being able to go back to normal
help them
understand that in this crisis no one is
safe
until everyone is safe and as dr anthony
fauci repeatedly stressed
public health measures are the vehicles
to reopening our economy
not obstacles
don’t worsen the problem become
part of the solution
and finally i’ll leave you with this
challenge
when the vaccines are ready for the
world what would you say
to get the people ready
thank you
you