When a crisis hits, you must quickly figure out what you are going to tell people. Have a framework ahead of time. Whether spoken or written, here are four things to tell your ensemble, organization, and customers.

1. What we currently know

2. What we do not yet know

3. What we are doing to know more

4. When we will be back in touch with more information

The nature of the crisis drives the frequency of updates of course, but generically, every three days risks over-promising, and every five business days is likely too relaxed. A default frequency of four days is a good estimate for a crisis that lasts more than a week.