Why has "extinguishing fire" changed to "pouring oil"?, Some official announcements
Facing sudden public opinion and being in the spotlight, responding to social concerns through official announcements is a necessary skill for all departments and units.
However, after reviewing numerous cases, many official announcements aimed at solidifying the truth not only failed to dampen public opinion, but also became targets of criticism, triggering secondary or even multiple public opinion incidents.
Is it because the public is too harsh or the notification is not appropriate to turn "firefighting" into "pouring oil"?
The public opinion is surging, and one cannot feel it unless they are in it.
Every subject pushed to the forefront of the storm is under immense pressure, and every official announcement is likely to contain a lot of investigation, multi-party negotiations, and repeated revisions.
But in a public opinion environment with almost zero error tolerance, every word and sentence in the official announcement will be reviewed under a magnifying glass. Upon careful review, official reports that are deeply embroiled in public opinion often make the following mistakes:
Late arrival. "The rumor has spread half the world, and the truth is still wearing shoes." The first time he didn't speak up, missed the response window, lost a certain sense of righteousness, and the late explanation appeared passive and weak in the face of the boiling public opinion.
Avoid the heavy and prioritize the light. Either unable to distinguish priorities, or speaking from left to right, it always gives people a feeling of concealment and answering questions that are not clear. The incremental information provided cannot lift the question mark in the minds of the outside world, but instead focuses too much on the content that everyone dislikes, which is tantamount to self triggering fire.
Insufficient evidence. Unclear about the investigation process and vague about the demonstration process, the notification of conclusions naturally appears to be not awesome enough, while rough lines such as "emotional stability", "proper settlement" and "reconciliation" inevitably lead to suspicion and even conspiracy theory.
The wording is inappropriate. Although talking about social tragedy, their attitude is indifferent and their words are stiff; Although he was talking about serious issues, he was clever and mixed with internet slang; Some even go against common sense and create farce of "low-level red, high-level black".
Urgent for success. Neglecting the laws of dissemination, always trying to dispel the heat through a "one-time response", and using qualitative language to conclude the event. But the public does not automatically draw an end to a conclusion, and the more they want to settle things as soon as possible, the more likely they are to get into trouble.
Official announcements are essentially communication with people, and every word and sentence should convey a sincere attitude. As unpleasant as the above, it not only fails to connect, but also leaves behind a series of gaps, inevitably leading to a loss of points.
"The cause of public opinion is not superior, and it is the mother of all undertakings."
Public opinion and public opinion are closely related. Once the official announcement goes off focus and deviates, it will inevitably cause secondary negative effects.
Simplify simple problems. When interrupted, one is only affected by its chaos. Those delayed and missing reports often make small things bigger and big things bigger. Especially today, the public's sensitivity to rights, demand for openness, and grasp of information are even greater than in the past. If they lose their voice when it's time to speak and avoid dialogue, they will inevitably lose their initiative in guiding public opinion. In the cycle of continuous questioning and passive disposal, it seriously occupies social resources and consumes administrative management costs.
Press the gourd to float the gourd. The rise of social media has brought about the dispersion of discourse power. Everyone has a microphone, everyone is a commentator, which also means that any word or phrase in the official announcement may be taken to space in all directions. When this kind of "hyperlink thinking" is projected onto public events, it manifests as the phenomenon of "public opinion riding". If an event is not held down, any detail in the event may become a new index, leading to more related public opinion. Pulling out the radish to bring out the mud, it eventually stirred up and turned people upside down.
The credibility of overdraft official reports. From the perspective of communication studies, people often rely on a framework when it comes to cognitive affairs, and the formation of this framework stems from their real-life experiences. Specifically, in terms of communication between the government and citizens, reports of inappropriate responses and indecisiveness are bound to leave many people with a negative impression of official reports. Over time, once stereotypes are formed, government departments will fall into the Tacitus trap, which greatly hinders the progress of work.
Today, the number of Chinese netizens has exceeded 1 billion. The natural attributes of noisy and diverse voices determine that no official announcement can satisfy everyone.
Industry insiders have admitted that "netizens scattering their insults" is the norm for successful public opinion response.
In this sense, the pursuit of official announcements may not be to answer every question or detail, but to accurately identify the greatest common denominator of social concern and provide the answers that most people want to know.
Combining positive and negative cases, it can be seen that official announcements should at least take into account the following aspects:
One is timeliness.
The only way to achieve martial arts in the world is to be fast without breaking through. This "fast" is not only a quick response on a temporary matter, but also a quick assessment of potential risks.
In the face of social events of public concern, the time window left by public opinion for relevant departments to work is getting smaller and smaller. The earlier the truth is explained, the earlier the initiative is grasped.
However, the more controversial an event is, the more complex the situation often becomes. It takes time to uncover the truth; To make a conclusion, evidence is needed. Faced with objectively existing investigation cycles, is it enough to work hard? I'm afraid not entirely, after all, if there is no official information available, rumors will rise to power. Seeking truth from facts, being honest with each other, and timely informing the progress of the disposal and investigation stages and the time needed in the future can avoid misunderstandings and strive for understanding.
Secondly, the gold content.
Eliminating uncertainty with deterministic information is the significance of official notification.
After a public opinion event occurs, the public opinion field is often filled with the opposition between trust and distrust, rationality and emotion. Once there is a gap in the factual description of the official report and a loophole appears in the timeline, the "skeptics" will have the upper hand and even overturn the entire report. On this issue, we must not take it for granted. We must have audience awareness, actively listen to the call of the people, publicly and in detail respond to the unknown and undisclosed content that the public wants to know, and deduce conclusions with rigorous logic and solid evidence in order to withstand rigorous scrutiny from the outside world.
Thirdly, a sense of propriety.
The onlookers crave the truth, and the official announcement craves external recognition, but this does not mean that the official announcement must blindly cater and win praise.
What should be said, to what extent, and to what wording, all require precise handling based on comprehensive considerations. Especially for many sensitive events, they often involve specific situations such as judicial procedures, confidentiality requirements, and personal privacy, which require specific analysis of specific issues while taking into account multiple constraints. Truly explaining these situations is a manifestation of sincerity.
Abandoning the one-way communication of "superiority" and "I say you listen", and emphasizing the two-way interaction of "I say you comment" and "you ask me answer". In fact, what the public expects is nothing more than an authoritative, professional, and easy to understand official announcement.
The style of speech reflects the style of work. The official announcement is not entirely based on the level of writing and communication skills. The key is to stand firm with the masses and establish their awareness.
In fact, official notifications are not only a procedure for government transparency, but also a way to connect with the public. In real-life scenarios, some departments first consider not what the public calls for, but whether their superiors will hold them accountable and how to reduce their responsibilities. It is precisely this mentality that leads to many official announcements not being written in response to the public, but rather seeking ways to reduce impact and shirk responsibility. In the end, all the pressure was transmitted to the publicity department, and the "pen and pen" and "spokesperson" became the "responsible person" and "scapegoat".
In the current public opinion, sincerity is greater than skill. The response methods of "dragging, concealing, sealing, blocking, and suppressing" have long been ineffective, and the effectiveness of public opinion response is not judged by superiors but by the public.
The attitude of being obedient and willing to change immediately after knowing one's mistakes is to a large extent more credible, respectable, and approachable. More importantly, a clever woman cannot cook without rice. Without the authoritative and detailed information provided by the actual department responsible for handling the incident, it is impossible to reverse public opinion solely through a pen and a spokesperson.
Only through coordinated efforts and collective planning can a reasonable, evidence-based, and humane report be produced to effectively quell public opinion.
Some people always have the misconception that only when there is no questioning voice can work be considered safe, but external questioning and questioning are also honing the speed and strength of government information disclosure. The smoother the information, the smaller the friction coefficient, and the higher the work efficiency.
From a development perspective, the media literacy of relevant departments has been generally improved in practice, from passive to active, from negative to positive. Adhering to a problem oriented approach and continuously optimizing and improving, official notifications of "helping others" will inevitably become fewer and fewer, and it will also make "rumors stop at the public, mutual trust stems from transparency" a consensus among more government agencies and units.
