Crisis Communication Thermometer with Daman Dev Sood
Daman Dev Sood introduced the concept of the Crisis thermometer for BCI Education Month during a live Webinar session – a concept which measures the ‘temperature’ of factual news vs rumors.
The concept came following the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic in India. Mr. Sood said that many BC, CM and EM professionals had dealt not only with the stress of managing the pandemic, but also with being sick and losing close ones.
He said that at the peak of the pandemic, when hospitals and crematoriums were full, he noticed that out of sheer desperation, people were sharing information on places to find medicines, hospitals with empty beds, crematoriums with space and much more.
But what started out as sharing with the intentions of helping each other, opened the floodgates to false information – which ended up being passed around. Mr. Sood said, “If for example you asked for help, and I sent you ten numbers, rather than helping you, I actually confuse you while you were already under pressure because someone was sick”.
This is when he thought of improving on crisis communication, and ensuring people verify the facts before passing information on. “The thermometer is a concept around how to measure facts from rumors during a crisis.”
During the live Education Month webinar called, ‘Daman’s Thermometer – tool to sieve Facts from Rumors – check the temperature before you act!’ Daman launched a live survey where attendees were asked a series of questions around how they communicate affectively during a time of crisis.
The data from live polls showed that 63% of respondents got an overload of communication during a crisis, whilst 14% wanted even more information.
Mr. Sood shared examples of miscommunication from his own family members and revealed that during the pandemic, people went into overdrive sharing information. With various real life examples in his webinar which included topics such as vaccine and COVID misinformation, Daman showed the audience how to track the information to its original source.
“The beauty of the Thermometer is, that it would work in all conditions, and all places beyond the Covid-19 Pandemic!” said Mr. Sood
With many takeaways from this insightful webinar, Mr. Sood’s aim was for crisis management teams across the industry to utilize this concept in a time of crisis. The tool helps to ensure the importance of factual information during an incident, over rumors which only enhance the panic around an event. You can access the event here.
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About the author
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Lisa Hanley
Journalist
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Daman Sood
International Resilience Trainer & Consultant
