Q&A document
An internal document setting out anticipated questions from the media and stakeholders with agreed answers, especially to the hardest ones.
A Q&A document prepares the company for a conversation before it begins. It covers the obvious questions, the awkward ones and those nobody in the company wants to hear. Its value depends on the team's honesty: if they leave out the hardest questions, a journalist will ask them.
Good answers are short, factual and consistent with the key messages. Where the company cannot yet answer, the document should explain why and when an answer will be possible. Answers touching on legal matters, personal data or disclosure obligations should be agreed with a lawyer involved.
A Q&A is not only for the spokesperson. People speaking to customers, employees, the bank or a regulator draw on the same material, which keeps the message consistent. For the board it is also a test: if a question cannot be answered honestly, the problem usually lies not in the communication but in the decision itself.
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