Communication Styles & Adapting Them During Cyber Crises

In cybersecurity, effective and adaptive communication during crises is critical. Yet, while many cybersecurity professionals are naturally incentivized to strengthen their technical skills, there tends to be more friction in motivating them to work on communication skills. In other words, it is rarely something that individuals and teams invest time into proactively improving. This workshop is an opportunity to invest time to gain perspective and use analog collaboration tools that will help improve communication within and between teams during crises (and also routine operations). Participants will be encouraged to embrace a growth mindset as they open up to others’ perspectives, raise awareness about their individual and team’s default style(s) of communication (i.e., Promoters, Analyzers, Supporters, Deciders), and practice “flexing” between their default communication style and other styles through interactive exercises. There is so much uncertainty in cybersecurity, and communication is one of the few things that individuals and teams can have control over that will directly contribute to adaptability and resilience for effective cyber crisis operations.