Absorb pressure from above, pass calm down below. That’s half the job right there.

A lot of the job is being a filter. Pressure arrives from above with urgency attached, and passing it through unchanged just multiplies the panic in a group that cannot do anything about the source. Filtering does not mean lying about the situation. It means turning a stressful message into a clear next step before it reaches people.

When something urgent lands on you this week, wait a few minutes before repeating it. Work out what actually has to change, then tell people that part in a normal voice. Keep the rest, because the panic was never useful information.