One message at one time
Eva Christiansen may not be a name you recognise, but, like her ‘Former Boss’, which is how she refers to Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany for 16 years from 2005 to 2021, Eva is quietly confident in her own unique skills.
Eva is not Alistair Campbell, she did not become the story. But she did become one of the most trusted advisors to Angela Merkel as her media advisor, going on to head the department for Political Planning, Innovation and Digital Policy and Strategic IT Steering.
A trained economist who found herself ‘accidentally’ in the world of comms and strategy, Eva is now a Partner at FGS Global, based in Berlin, advising clients on reputation management, stakeholder engagement strategy and executive leadership communication.
Eva’s long career in communication and multiple strategic planning roles, has given her a unique lens on how to approach the hardest of situations.
In 2015, when the European migrant crisis forced Angela Merkel to make a decision about refugees marching from Hungary, human trafficking in vans from Austria, the Chancellor made a two-pronged statement.
This statement reflected, in the first instance, the human story which demanded a humane response.
The second part was that ‘We have to take control of this situation and solve the problem behind it’. The second part never landed.
Eva learned that a shared message, delivered at a time of heightened emotions within the German population, does not get through.
In times of deep fear and concern, only one message lands.
We spoke about how to become a deeply trusted advisor, how lonely it is to be in the position of a CEO where you may be surrounded by the supplicant ‘yes yes yes’, which is ultimately no good for good governance.
Angela Merkel was a highly trained scientist and Eva described how the Chancellor had to learn to repeat things more than once, which - initially - was frustrating to her brilliant and quick mind.
Her rules for communication remain constant, whether for a politician or now, for companies:
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Lisa Burke Broadcaster | Presenter | International Moderator lisatoniburke.com
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