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Good morning!

After last week’s tariff-fueled stock market roller coaster, companies across the U.S. are taking a hard look at how they should communicate with their employees during such volatile times. On one hand, business leaders need to acknowledge that their workers might be nervous about the future , and worried about their 401(k)s. On the other, they want to project a sense of calm in an otherwise stormy economic atmosphere.

My colleague Lila MacLellan spoke with leadership experts to get their advice about how bosses should be navigating these unprecedented times. One of the biggest takeaways? Keep it real.

“There’s so many CEOs who think that we ought to do happy talk, or show optimism, or let people look on the bright side,” says David Dotlich, a president and senior partner at Korn Ferry , who advises Fortune 500 CEOs. But while leaders should aspire to be optimistic, a little bit of pragmatism goes a long way. “I also think as a leader, you have to be realistic,” he adds.

It’s also critical for managers and HR leaders to remember that even if they don’t have all the answers, it’s better to speak up rather than leave employees hanging.

“The single worst thing you can do is wait for complete information before you communicate,” says Adam Galinsky, a professor at Columbia Business School. He points to a recent study conducted by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, which found that leaders are nearly 10 times as likely to be criticized for under-communicating than over-communicating.

“Over-communicators [are] annoying, but they were seen as at least having good intentions,” he says. “That's my number one thing: communicate, communicate, communicate.”

You can read more about what business leaders can say to their employees here .

Sara Braun
Sara.Braun@fortune.com