Crisis Fatigue Is Real — But Your Message Still Matters

We’ve all felt it lately — the slow burn of exhaustion that seeps in after months (or years) of crisis-level communication. Whether it’s fires, shootings, storms, politics, or public health, the volume of “urgent” messaging has never been higher. And for many audiences — and communicators — the emotional bandwidth is gone.

The New Normal: An Always-On Crisis Cycle

For years, communicators have been told to “show up early, stay visible, and be transparent.” It’s still sound advice. But when the public is constantly bombarded with updates, alerts, and warnings, even the most important messages can blend into background noise.

Your audience isn’t ignoring you out of apathy — they’re tapped out. And truthfully, many public information officers are too. You can’t sustain empathy, clarity, and composure on empty.

So how do we communicate when everyone, including us, is running on fumes?