How would you explain a technical outage to a nontechnical stakeholder?

Lead with what users are experiencing, which services are affected, and the current business impact. State what is known, what remains uncertain, what the team is doing, and when the next update will arrive. Use plain language and avoid attributing blame before investigation. Offer a safe workaround if one exists and make clear whether data integrity is affected. After recovery, explain the cause and prevention actions at an appropriate level. A confident tone should come from clear evidence, not from inventing a precise recovery time.