Last week, I talked to an advisor concerned that if he called clients too often, he might communicate that he is truly alarmed by what's going on and raise their anxiety levels as a result.Consider advice on this topic from a recent interview with Rob Kaplan, former Vice Chair of Goldman Sachs and currently a professor at the Harvard Business School:

"Once you are in a crisis, you have to over-communicate. There is a tendency in human nature that if you are not sure what is happening and not sure what you should be doing, you under-communicate. You have to fight that. The role of the leader is to get out there and talk about what's going on. If there are things you don't know, just explain: "We don't know. We don't know what the future is going to be. We don't know what the economy is going to do. But here is what we do know and what we're going to do."

That's good advice for leaders of organization - and equally good advice for advisors.

I've spent a lot of time talking to investors since last fall. In the course of those conversations, I haven't run into a single case of clients who have been panicked because their advisors have been in too much contact - but have certainly run into lots of investors concerned because they haven't heard from their advisors at all.

Of course, just talking to clients isn't sufficient - you have to send the right message in those conversations.

Based on Rob Kaplan's model, here's what that message might sound like:

1. "I'm just checking in to chat about what's been happening in markets lately and to answer any questions you might have. What questions do you have based on what you're read and heard in the media recently?"

2. "There certainly is no lack of bad news in the short term - this is consistent with studies that show the media tends to exaggerate things, both on the upside a few years ago and the downside today. What no one knows is how long it will take us to work through this and also how much of this bad news is already reflected in the price of stocks."

3. "In light of this uncertainty, my focus today is less on the immediate period ahead - because no one seems to really be able to predict that with any accuracy - and more on the prospects for the mid term, two or three years out."

4. "Given the drop in stock prices for strong firms like the Canadian banks and some of the very best global companies, there are in fact lots of reason to be cautiously optimistic if you look out two or three years. Would you like to take some time to talk about that right now?" (If you're having difficulty finding reasons for mid term optimism, consider look at some of the articles under Links to useful articles in the Client Commentaries section in the right hand column of this website.)

Finally, once you have a point form message that works for you, you should run through it a few times until you can deliver it with conviction and confidence. Remember, what you say when talking to clients is often less important than how you say it.

If you're concerned that contacting clients too often will increase their anxiety, remember that these days, there are few higher priorities than taking the time to frame your message, developing your facility in delivering that message with confidence - and then getting out and telling your story.