If you ignore the advice from the last question, you probably won’t have to face this question. Not what I’d recommend, however. When people ask What is coming next?, it is good news. This question means they can see a little beyond the immediate, and it is usually an indication that you’ve been doing a good job of answering the What’s happening? question.

At any given time during a crisis, you may or may not have an answer to this question. That’s okay. Just continue to tell what you know and what you can tell when you can tell it. Make the time of your next update common public knowledge and keep it, even if you have nothing new to add. Be visible. When you see some future possibilities that you can share, do so. Label them as speculation or good bets or whatever term actually describes their probability. If they become more probable, announce that. If they fade as possibilities, announce that.

Three things a leader can do wrong during a crisis are to disappear, to start and then stop communications, and to make promises in the heat of the moment that they can’t keep later. Practice not doing these three things when there isn’t a crisis, and you’ll do okay when there is.