What is communication? Is it just being able to articulate your thoughts well, good English - verbal or written? While these aspects are important, what it should also consider is the more important aspects of what to communicate and when.

Consider the case of a Tsunami warning that needs to go out. What will you communicate and to whom? Information about the warning needs to go out to the fishermen and the folks living on the coasts and to folks responsible for evacuation measures. The communication should have clear, precise information intended to alert and not cause panic. It should go out when there's enough time for the people to act. Without any of these, the communication would not serve its purpose.

In today's days of corporate mayhem, of global recession - communication is the key. All of us are worried and the management of any company has a huge responsibility on maintaining the morale and balancing it with realistic expectations of current situations - this can only be accomplished with effective communication. The management needs to decide:

1. Its plan for communicating the current status of the company. Openness and transparency will go a long way.

2. While we all know and understand the need for selective communication on sensitive issues, employees must be made aware in advance of what the current scenario is, what are the options that the company is considering and what impacts it may have on them. Many companies worry that this will cause unnecessarily cause panic among the employees, I am of the opinion that if communicated properly, it need not.

3. Communicating bad news especially must be done early; uncertainty is more damaging than certain bad news. The management needs to show sensitivity, understanding, firmness and courage in communicating unwelcome news to its employees.

4. Bad news, especially one that has an impact at an organization level, needs to be made by a single person at a single go post discussion at management level. It cannot be done piece meal across different levels- if it is, there's bound to be differences in the style, the timing and the content in the communication being passed on, inevitably resulting in different messages being given and taken. Since you cannot control how the message is going to be understood, what you can do, is control the source, so that there's only way the message is given. There can be paths and channels set for subsequent clarifications and reprisals, but the communication needs to happen from one source.

So, managers and all you folks discussing strategies in board rooms, my request to you - try this out. Communicate early, communicate enough, communicate openly and generate confidence. This is much needed in today's world of uncertainties and broken trust.