The term communication triage describes, for me, a strategic control principle for managing crises in geopolitically charged environments. It is a principle I apply in practice. It transfers the medical logic of triage — the prioritization of actions according to urgency and chances of survival — to communication in situations where time, attention, and credibility become the scarcest resources. Communication triage means deciding, under immense pressure and amid contradictory streams of information, what must be communicated now, what can wait, and what is better left unsaid.

In my work as a consultant for communication, crisis, and war resilience, I encounter this necessity regularly: in companies operating within global tension fields, whose supply chains are geopolitically vulnerable, and whose brands suddenly find themselves drawn into security policy debates. From my time as a spokesperson for a defense company, I also know how thin the line can be between factual information, political sensitivity, and public perception. In such situations, communication triage is not a theoretical construct — it is a survival strategy.

Analogous to its medical model, this logic is divided into three categories. Red communication is vital and must occur immediately, for example in security alerts, initial reports to authorities, or rapid responses to disinformation. Yellow communication stabilizes the situation, including media briefings, stakeholder updates, and internal situation reports. Green communication is subsequent and serves reputation management, follow-up analysis, and strategic framing within the broader geopolitical context.

Its goal is to avoid reactivity and regain control, communicatively as well as strategically. In geopolitical stress situations, when sanctions distort markets, cyberattacks cloud information spaces, or political narratives pressure corporate communication, triage creates clear order: first safety, then context, then narrative control. Communication triage is therefore far more than crisis management craftsmanship. It is an instrument of geopolitical communication resilience, a method that helps organizations remain communicatively capable in a multipolar, fragmented world. It compels leadership and communication alike to deploy their resources where they make the greatest strategic difference: at the intersection of politics, business, and the public sphere.