One message, one idea—or you risk sounding foolish

The importance of clarity

Every message has to have one clear, main message. Mix in too many, and you risk coming across as confused, dishonest or ridiculous.

And when you change your messaging, you lose credibility. Sometimes, you have to change your message because circumstances change, or we learn more. Even so, you will raise doubt.

The COVID-19 pandemic keeps driving this lesson home. Just look at the confusion around mixing different brands of vaccines between your first and second doses. 

At one time, the scientific consensus was that you had to get two doses of the same brand of vaccine. Now, health authorities are telling people that, depending on which brand or type of vaccine you received for your first dose, you may be able to get a different kind for your second dose. You may even be better of with a different vaccine. Or maybe you should stay with the same brand. Depending on what’s available, your age, your health condition. 

And these recommendations seem to change every weekday. 

It’s not an easy job

Many have pointed out that the worldwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic is “science in real time.” Researchers and experts are announcing new knowledge as soon as they learn it. And much seems contradictory. Remember when we were all disinfecting our groceries when we brought them home? Changing our clothes as soon as we walked in the door? Turns out, it wasn’t necessary to protect against COVID-19. Sure, it helps prevent other infections, but they’re not as problematic or as prevalent. 

When it comes to vaccines, we were first told that we had to have the same brand for both doses, three to four weeks apart. Then the delay for the second shot was extended to four months

We were told that vaccines were about to expire. Then when the best-before date approached, the shelf life was extended. By a lot. 

All these changes have been made, I am confident, in good faith. This is science in real time, which only means that we’re learning more all the time and adapting to new knowledge. 

That is what allowed humans able to live all around the world. 

Changing messages

But it doesn’t help with that old problem of credibility. Evidence: on the weekend, I was driving with my two sons through downtown Ottawa, when we passed a small protest against COVID-19 protection measures. It was a small group of people, some of whom held up signs decrying vaccination. 

My reaction was very different from my sons’. They supported the protesters’ right to protest. They pointed out that the messaging has been inconsistent, evoking doubt. And they stressed that vaccination must be a free, personal choice. 

My reaction, on the other hand, was visceral: while I agreed with my sons, I felt angry at the anti-rational, patently false statements on some of the signs the protesters held up. 

Signs accusing public health officials of oppressing people. And of course, the bonkers idea that vaccines were injecting tracking chips into our bloodstreams. 

Don’t even get me started on that branch of idiocy. 

However, I find that the demonstration provided more evidence of the importance of clear communication. 

What to watch for

Clear and consistent communication is crucial (how’s that for alliteration?). Sometimes, we have to change our messages. Circumstances change. We learn more. We learned a century ago that smoking was bad for not just smokers, but potentially deadly for everyone around them. 

But you have to be really careful and deliberate about changing your message, especially if you’re going to pivot 180 degrees. It takes a careful plan, so tune in next week to read more about this.

As for mixing messages

If you’re like the protesters who can go from “personal body autonomy is an inalienable right” to “vaccines are transmitting our movements to ‘them,’ you’re going to make the largest, and most valuable segment of the population dismiss you as a fool.