Crisis Communication Management

Identify and classify common crises that affect businesses, from financial and technological to natural, organizational, personnel, and disastrous events, and learn proactive strategies to reduce impact.

Develop a crisis communication checklist that guides pre-crisis risk assessment, live crisis actions, and post-crisis recovery, including internal and external messaging, a crisis management team, and emergency contacts.

In crisis communication management, understand how communication crises impact a company's image and bottom line and apply pre-, live-, and post-crisis checklists—risk assessment, crisis management team, messaging, and post-crisis planning.

Crisis communication plans provide adaptable, transparent, reliable, and consistent guidance with charts and tables, including a draft plan for crises and updates monthly, quarterly, or annually to protect your business.

Develop a clear crisis manual with a contents page, worst-case scenarios, a traffic light decision system, a template meeting agenda, and 24/7 contact details with third-party stakeholders.

Develop an incident escalation process as part of your crisis manual, detailing who to alert, how to report, and backups through a clear flowchart for swift internal and external communication.

Understand how the media landscape operates across broadcasting, print, out-of-home, and online channels, and craft crisis communications that align with reporters' news angles and deadlines.

Select a spokesperson with authority and media experience to credibly communicate during a crisis, demonstrating empathy, honesty, and calm while handling negativity and building public trust.

Prepare for crisis media interviews by researching journalists, setting ground rules, and rehearsing key messages, then stay calm in hostility, use bridging and flagging, and maintain professional nonverbal cues.

Navigate the crisis media landscape by building media relationships, selecting an authoritative spokesperson, crafting a key message with soundbites, and setting ground rules to control the narrative through nonverbal cues.

Establish a crisis response with a core team and spokesperson, align on key messages, take ownership, use brand tone to change the narrative, and provide timely updates.

Identify what not to do in a crisis by examining BP and United Airlines missteps, including avoiding responsibility, blaming others, and failing to apologize, which damages the reputation.