Media Training for Covid-19 Key Messages: Rule of Threes

By Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC 

The brain remembers three things better than five. That is why the Rule of Threes is a foundation of media training. So when key medical experts testified before Congress recently, the nit-picker in me appreciated their five tips for preventing the spread of Covid-19, yet I know that a minor shift to three tips could result in more effective crisis communications.

The doctors all suggested:

1. Wear a mask
2. Wash your hands frequently
3. Practice social distancing
4. Avoid crowds at businesses, bars, and social gatherings
5. Avoid large family gatherings

Although their advice seems fairly straightforward, as a professional media trainer and crisis communications expert, I am always examining how to communicate more effectively in a crisis.

Watch the video to learn how you can convert these five points into three key messages to clearly explain the guidelines in a way that the spokesperson can easily remember, and listeners can easily remember, using the Rule of Threes, and our Key Message Tree mind-mapping model.

This media training model can be applied to every event for every spokesperson. When you apply the Rule of Threes, your media training will be far more effective.

If you’d like to learn more, schedule a no-obligation conversation with me using this link: https://calendly.com/braud/15min

Crisis communications and media training expert Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC is based in New Orleans. Organizations on five continents have relied on him to write their crisis communications plans and to train their spokespeople. He is the author of “Don’t Talk to the Media Until…”

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