What is the number one answer you can give to the media during a time of crisis? It's an overlooked answer. It's kind of a little secret. People are afraid to use this answer. But it is in fact a great answer. The answer is, I don't know.

Wants you to write that down? Because so many people create problems for the organization, their business, their whole industry? Because they just don't say, I don't know. Is the leak going to stop spilling out oil in the next 24 hours? Don't be optimistic and say, yes, it's going to be stopped in 24 hours, say, I don't know. 14 people are missing.

Where will they all be found? Yes, I'm very hopeful they'll all be fit. I don't know is the answer. If you don't know with 100% certainty About a question during a crisis, don't guess, say, I don't know. That way you're not setting yourself up for trouble. You're not setting yourself up for being exposed as wrong.

Lying, being a fool, trying to deceive. But here's the thing. Don't just say I don't know. Then bridge to what you do know. I don't know what I can tell you is right now we have 100% of our people looking for the missing colleague, bridge to what you do know, someone asked you about how's this gonna affect your stock price or what's gonna happen to the other side of town? If this smoke gets over there, I get you don't know.

Focus on what you do now. I've seen countless times and countless industries, people who want to be positive reassured During calming, but they go too far in answer to a question, one of your best friends in a crisis press conferences The simple answer. I don't know. No. It shouldn't be used for simple things that you should know. But it should be used if someone wants to talk about the future.

Nobody really knows the future and during a crisis, you are focused 100% on solving the crisis, the problem and alleviating pain, suffering fire injury right now and that's why, I don't know is a great, great answer.