When you don't have a clue what to say

You're phone rings. It's a reporter asking questions about a problem at your HOA. And you have no idea what to say.

Stay calm. Listen to what the reporter is saying. Buy some time, if you can, so you can touch base with your property manager or HOA attorney. Ask if you can get back to the reporter. You may not be able to buy a lot of time, since reporters work on deadline. But a little something is better than nothing. And mention the reporter's deadline to whoever you reach out to for help.

(There's more about this in At Least Some PR available through Amazon Books, or contact HOA Strategic -- hoastrategic@gmail.com.)

Comments

Always the same old HOA news

When there's news about HOAs on TV or in newspapers, it's mostly the same old news over and over again. Someone puts up a flag, changes something on their home, has hens, roosters or pigs on their property, maybe playground equipment. Things like that. If reporters happen to call, what happens? Lots of scrambling around, probably. An OMG! moment. There's a reporter calling, emailing or knocking on the door! What are we going to do? What comes in handy, sometimes, is having some kind of general response in mind. So, when a reporter asks: What are you planning to do about this? (The THIS being one of those things like flags, roosters, etc.), the response might be: We hope to be able to address this situation through discussions involving the homeowner, our homeowners association and concerned neighbors. Something that says a little something, without saying more than should be said, especially when you're under pressure.

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