To be a leader in 2023 is to encounter challenge after challenge. We are living through an incredibly tumultuous period, from waves of layoffs at tech companies large and small, to thorny financial situations like Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse. Often when you’re managing through turbulence, you have to stay calm on the surface, while you’re paddling like crazy underwater.

As someone who founded a company in 2008 and dropped out of business school when Lehman Brothers went under, I know firsthand how stressful it can be to lead in a moment like this. But over the past decade plus of my career, it’s become crystal clear to me that there’s one skill that should be top of mind right now: overcommunication.

We all know that communication is key. Ideally, as your team or company scales, you have frameworks in place to seamlessly communicate across your organization. Perhaps you hold daily standups or send weekly progress emails, like Mathilde Colon of Front. These routines are important, but when things get tough, overcommunication is essential. It reminds me of the old marketing adage, the rule of seven, which is the idea that consumers need to hear or see something seven times before it sticks. Messaging updates to your team and stakeholders is similar; more is more here.

Here are the five principles I always return to when I need to overcommunicate through a crisis.

BE QUICK

Let’s say a rumor is floating around that your company is doing layoffs. Staying silent and failing to send a message only breeds confusion and stress. It’s okay to send a message before you have finalized 100% of the details, simply to say: we’re aware, here’s what we know today, and here’s when you can expect more information. Speed is better than silence.

BE THOUGHTFUL

Moving fast and communicating quickly is a must, but in times of crisis, the bar to communicate thoughtfully is raised. Before you hit send on a communication, make sure that you’ve gut-checked it with a trusted colleague or peer who can offer more perspective. If it’s a written communication, assume that it could show up on the front page of tomorrow’s paper. If that happened, would you still stand by what the message says? It’s always worth a (short) beat to give it one last read-through.

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A PHONE CALL

One of my mentors taught me this very early on in my career: If you ever have an important message to convey, pick up the phone. So much can get lost in translation over a text or email. We can’t afford to lose tone and nuance at a time when tone and nuance matter.

So if you have to share something difficult, a phone call is not only the most efficient, it’s often the most effective. Depending on what you need to share, you can always follow up with a call with written confirmation of what you discussed live.

REMEMBER ALL YOUR STAKEHOLDERS

If you’re working through a challenge, there’s likely a core audience you need to reach ASAP. But make sure you think through all of the stakeholders who might have questions. It’s always better to reach out to them proactively, instead of waiting for a deluge of (panicked) inbound messages.

For example, let’s say you’re dealing with a data breach. Your first order of business is messaging impacted customers, but there are many others who will want to know what’s going on: your employees, investors, and even future customers in the pipeline (wouldn’t it be better to hear from you instead of through the grapevine?).

CLOSE THE LOOP

Because you communicated ASAP, there will likely be more updates to share over time. Don’t forget to circle back: What have you learned since your last note? Are there any big updates to share or corrections to make? Were there common questions you got that you can address in a group format?

No matter what curveball comes your way or what chaos you’re dealing with in the moment, don’t forget to take a step back and remember to communicate. Yes, you need to solve the root problem, but communication can help make everyone feel brought along the journey with you and give them the confidence that you have it under control.