Business Women of Fayette and Coweta Focus on Crisis Communication

The Business Women of Fayette and Coweta met at Maguire’s in Senoia last Tuesday evening for their monthly meeting, known as The Connect. This month’s gathering featured speaker Tiffany Trueblood, who addressed crisis communication and how organizations can maintain trust during high-pressure situations.

The discussion came just days after a winter weather watch for the region that ultimately brought mild conditions for many residents, but still resulted in scattered power outages and heightened concern across social media — a contrast that underscored one of Trueblood’s central points: communication often defines a crisis as much as the event itself.

Trueblood serves as Public Relations and Communications Manager for Coweta-Fayette EMC, where she oversees crisis communications and monitors social media during storms, outages, and other situations that place organizations under public scrutiny. She framed her remarks around the realities faced by business owners, nonprofit leaders, and managers who must communicate with customers, clients, and the public when problems arise.

“I’ve been doing this thing for 23 years, not just communications, but crisis — the scary stuff — communications and social media,” Trueblood said.

What defines a crisis

Trueblood encouraged attendees to rethink what qualifies as a crisis, particularly in business and organizational settings.

“When I say crisis, you’re quite thinking this,” she said. “That crisis can be anything that just makes you stay up at night. It doesn’t have to be the front page of the news.”

She said the common denominator in nearly every crisis is people.

“You guys all have one big thing in common,” Trueblood said. “You have to deal with people. The people of it all, y’all, it’s the people.”

Honesty, speed, and humanity

Trueblood outlined three principles she returns to repeatedly in crisis situations: honesty, timeliness, and empathy.

“One, be honest,” she said. “That sounds so simple, but it is so hard for people to do.”

She emphasized that honesty must be grounded in verified facts, particularly when responding to complaints.

“Stick to the facts. Stick to the facts,” Trueblood said. “It’s hard to argue with honesty and facts.”

Using power bill complaints as an example, she described responding with information rather than defensiveness.

“‘Miss Smith, I’m really sorry about your power bill, but went back and looked, and we actually had 20 days of below freezing temperatures in December,’” she said. “‘If you want to know how that impacts your power bill, here’s a video.’”

Trueblood said facts help anchor credibility, but empathy remains essential.

“I’m really sorry your power bill is high,” she said. “I don’t know what her life is like. She may be on a very fixed income.”

Social media is the room

Trueblood warned that avoiding social media during tense moments can quickly erode trust.

“If you’re not in the room, you hang out in the hallway,” she said. “Those people are in that room and they are talking about you.”

She referenced familiar local online spaces — including community Facebook groups such as Chatty Newnan Women, Senoia Locals, Life in the PTC Bubble, and Fayetteville-area pages — where conversations can escalate rapidly if left unaddressed.

Silence, she added, is often interpreted as guilt.

“Don’t go silent,” Trueblood said. “Silent is admitting guilt. No matter what.”

She cautioned against engaging emotionally in comment threads.

“Do not fight your battle in the comments,” she said. “Put your statement out. Stick to your page.”

Lessons from winter weather response

Drawing from her role at Coweta-Fayette EMC, Trueblood said storm preparation extends far beyond forecasting.

“For us, that’s a crisis,” she said. “We were planning for people being out of power for six, seven days in this freezing weather.”

She said residents often rely on social media as their primary source of information during outages, particularly when other forms of communication are unavailable.

“That’s what people use,” Trueblood said. “They want to talk. They want to chat. They want to know a person.”

Monitoring those conversations, she said, helps organizations understand public concerns, but she cautioned against taking criticism personally.

“A lot of times, they’re just really wanting someone to listen to them,” Trueblood said.

What not to do

Trueblood also outlined common mistakes organizations make during crises, including speculation and defensiveness.

“Don’t get defensive,” she said. “Don’t attack critics. That includes the press.”

She warned against oversharing details that may confuse rather than reassure the public.

“There’s a difference between transparency and spilling all your tea,” Trueblood said. “Leave some tea in your pot.”

Staying human

Trueblood closed by returning to the importance of authenticity in communication.

“If you can stay honest, don’t lose your humanity, you’ll be fine,” she said.

She said trust is built not through perfection, but through consistency.

“People want to know the person there,” Trueblood said. “If you can do that in a caring, empathetic way and be truthful and timely and honest, you can control that narrative.”Women who own or work in businesses in Fayette and Coweta counties can learn more about the Business Women of Fayette and Coweta, including upcoming lunchtime networking events and dinner meetings, by visiting www.bwfcc.org. The BWFC exists to give back for a better community, and each year hosts three events that raise funds for local nonprofits.