How to Harness the Power of Information

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Warren Buffet, has noted the best investment you can make is in yourself. And skill in effective communications may be the most important skill of all to acquire. In a 2022 interview with Inc. Magazine he said, "You can have all the brainpower in the world, but you have to be able to transmit it." Let's learn how to increase the impact of your messaging.

For millennia, both history and science have taught us that humans not only benefit from but actively pursue opportunities to express themselves during and after times of crisis and adversity. From the Greek tragedies to Shakespearean plays, from the Wailing Wall to the Blues, from journaling to art therapy, from dance to cathartic psychotherapy, we have released emotional burdens, and perhaps even gained healing, from the expression of distress. But far less has been written about the power of simply giving and receiving information and the power it bestows.

People Want Information in Challenging Times

Humans are social beings in need of interaction, it is true, but even more so we crave information. Why? Because while we usually fear bad news, we fear most the unknown.

Information addresses our fears. Information gives us a sense of connection. Information calms anxiety, but more so, information yields power. The Common English Version of The Bible tells us, “Wisdom brings strength, and knowledge gives power” (Proverbs, CVE, 24:5-6). In his Meditationes Sacrae, published in 1597, Sir Francis Bacon famously wrote, “Information itself is power,” and by that he boldly asserts all power is derived from information.

Communities Are Built on Shared Information

The actual practice of coming together and sharing information on matters of importance can be traced back over 3,000 years to the ancient Greek practice of public assemblies at the Agora. Around 150 A.D., the Romans continued the practice of public assembly at the Roman Forum as a platform for the dissemination of information, discussion, and even public debate.

The term meeting arose in Old English around the 14^th century, but the practice of village gatherings for the provision of information far predated the word itself. These meetings served not only as the settings for providing the news of the day but as a platform for sharing critical lessons of life in the form of “fairy tales” (Everly, 2019). Town hall meetings became a community staple throughout Europe and later the United States and remain a powerful forum for sharing information even today. Internet platforms allow us to come together and share information virtually.

Crisis Communications

In a crisis, most people seek information and the empowerment derived from it (CDC, 2019), which can be critical before, during, and after emergencies and disasters. Information informs decision-making, and the decisions we make at those times are often the most critical in our lives. Those are the decisions most likely to change our future.

The mistakes made in times of crisis are those most likely to have catastrophic consequences and echo for a lifetime or more. Making informed decisions and acting upon credible information in times of crisis are imperatives for both ourselves and those whom we wish to protect. But did you ever notice that many people seem to have a hard time "hearing" the message of assistance you wish to communicate?

Improving Your Ability to Inform in Crisis

If indeed information is power, how do we best share information? How do we mobilize the power inherent in information? When faced with crisis and adversity, no matter if large or small, research suggests two processes must be engaged for information to be useful and to empower others. These principles apply to organizational "briefings," community town hall meetings, and school assemblies, as well as conversations with individuals or small groups. The two processes are:

1) increasing motivation to act upon the information being shared and

2) anticipating questions and providing specific unambiguous details regarding how to act.

Motivation to employ information and willingness to act upon it entail three steps:

1) presentation of a need (an existing threat, anticipated adversity, an impending disaster)

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2) presentation of a solution (ways to avoid or mitigate adverse outcome, even after the event), and

3) convincing recipients of the information that they can successfully implement the solution, whatever it might be (Witte, 1992).

Having motivated others to listen to our message, the second process involves providing more detailed "how to" information wherein you anticipate questions and challenges, and provide as much detailed and unambiguous information for resilience and empowerment as possible (Everly, 2000). This can be largely achieved in four subsequent steps:

1) describing the anticipated or currently realized effects of the adversity (physical and psychological)

2) describing the cause

3) describing in specific detail (step-by-step) what needs to be done (solution) and

4) describing what needs to be done in the future to prevent similar adversity (lessons learned presented after the crisis has resolved).

Human beings abhor ambiguity and contradiction, so if when providing information before, during, or after a crisis there is a failure to anticipate questions and build in an adequate response, people will tend to fill in the blanks themselves with the worst possible scenarios. They will similarly question the credibility of the source moving forward.

The crisis communication challenges surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic are a case in point, but the principles apply to personal communications as well as to public communications by leaders and elected officials. Using an evidence-informed formula for harnessing the power of information in crisis, such as described, may help take the guesswork out of effective crisis communications and make you a more effective and persuasive communicator at all times.

© 2023, George S. Everly, Jr., PhD