BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

The recent widely-publicized shooting at Wesleyan University opened a wound that has been trying to heal since Columbine. With the recent anniversaries of both the Columbine and Virginia Tech tragedies, we are reminded once again of the crucial role communications plays during crises that can shake public confidence to its roots.

Wesleyan has been commended for its rapid and effective response in notifying students about the shooting. School officials sent students emergency voicemail and text messages along with a standard email notification, which parents also received. The university utilized Twitter to direct students to blog updates posted by the school' s president and campus security. As a result, almost all students remained inside their dorms while police searched for the shooter, thus preventing additional casualties.

Schools around the nation have implemented tech-savvy communications. Since the widespread use of cell phones, schools now have the capability to text-message students and send voicemail alerts directly. While email has always been a traditional approach, nowadays schools are utilizing social network sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to reach out to students, as well as blogs and Instant Messenger. The most well-equipped and prepared schools use a universal, multi-channel approach to communication.

One of the most important lessons learned from the VA Tech shootings is that schools must be more attuned to students' habits, especially how and where they communicate. If schools need to communicate with their student body swiftly and urgently, then they must start thinking and acting like today' s students.

And thereby hangs a communications lesson for professionals and businesspeople of all sorts, no matter with whom they need to communicate.