Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
EU STL 231: Crisis Communication: Learn How to Manage the Situation –
Ann Marie Mayuga
You are probably taking this EU
course because you have a business
that can potentially be exposed to
public relations risk, and you’re
wondering how to handle a crisis situation.
You may not have given much thought to what you and your colleagues
would do in a crisis.
This course will cover the key points of a crisis communications plan.
Afterwards, you will be better prepared to for a crisis and know when to call a PR professional.
The Crisis Communication’s Mindset
Be concerned, empathetic,
but calm when
interacting with external and internal
audiences.
If business operations
are disrupted, customers
want to know how they are
impacted.
Regulators may need to be notified
as well as local government
officials.
Employees need to know what can be shared with clients, vendors and
partners.
Don’t make a crisis worse by appearing unprepared!
#1 Rule of Crisis management – You can only control your emotions.
Identify potential audiences and company spokespeople ahead of time.
Develop a set of talking points ASAP and don’t release them until you have
approval.
Worksheets: Let’s make a list of your potential crises and pick one to work
on for this course
What is your #1 potential crisis that you want to work on today? Anyone
want to share?
Who is your audience during this crisis?
Who is/are your company
spokesperson(s)?
What Constitutes a Crisis?
Something that can affect the ongoing health of your company
Does anyone have an example of something they have dealt with in
the past?
What happened?
Does anyone have an example of bad crisis communications?
Even strong companies stumble – Here are some examples of not managing the
situation. They tried to control it.
Anthem Blue Cross – Data breach
Volkswagen – Emissions Scandal
You may not immediately realize that you are in a crisis situation, so DON’T…
Provide a disorganized and “off-the-cuff” response which will result in a
sharp public outcry
Have a bad attitude: “We are right. You are wrong and here’s why…”
Don’t be dismissive, silent for a long period of time, or ignore the situation entirely!
Run Your Business
10 Golden Rules for Crisis Communication video
IF you can find humor in the crisis, keep it to yourself and don’t joke about it!
Seinfeld on Risk Management video
Nothing will convict you in the court of public opinion faster than making light of
a crisis!
How do they want to receive this information? Phone call, text, email, or
written letter?
If they are vocal on social media or broadcast media, what is your crisis
response plan?
Developing the Crisis Communications Plan
Audiences – Let’s look at the list you created
Crisis Communications Hub & Spoke Diagram
Let’s look at the various spokes of
this plan…
Do you have any questions?
Crisis Management | Got Bad News? Spit it out! Video
Who was involved?
Why did it happen? Don’t speculate! Just present the facts as they are
known.
How do you plan to resolve this crisis?
Add your answers to an approved list of
talking points
Talking Points Worksheet: An Opportunity to Reinforce Your Core Values
It’s difficult to transform a negative to a positive but you can reinforce your core values
Body language: Coach your spokesperson(s)
prior to delivering these talking points
Messages – Now, let’s tailor the crisis communications message for each audience
Stakeholders and your audience want to know how
you plan to rectify the situation
Your primary audience –what is a potential crisis that you may face that
involves them?
Use the worksheet to fill out the 5 W’s and How?
Discussion: any questions or insights?
Minto’s Pyramid Principle
Just like this PowerPoint slide deck, support each statement with
additional facts
The Key Message is at the top of the pyramid
Supporting information is in the
successive row below
Additional Talking Points
Have you thought of additional talking points?
Why did you develop these talking points?
Who else needs to know?
Resources for Crisis Communications
The Core Crisis Communications Team
Management Team monitors all communications (Phone calls, social
media, emails etc.)
Additional resources - Your attorney, CPA, financial adviser,
business consultant etc.
A PR Professional to provide outside support
Emergency Contact List – Let’s develop a list and fill out the names for now (numbers
later)
Who are you going to contact first? Use a
“phone tree”, followed by text, and email.
Fill out your vital contact list of names, cell numbers, and text
numbers.
Optional: A list of state, local, and
government agencies to contact
Business Partners/Organizations
List your business partners who may be affected by this crisis
The goal is to preserve existing business relationships and lines of
communication
Crisis Communications Tactics
The Four R’s of Crisis Communications (Affect Social Media Whitepaper)
Readiness
Examine your company, facilities,
people, products and environment for
potential risk
Sometimes it’s necessary to
respond before you have all the facts
Begin by acknowledging the situation and its impact on affected parties
Commit to a full investigation
Reassurance
Conduct an investigation and develop an action plan to rectify the situation
Managing a crisis on more than just stopping the bleeding in the short-term
It’s also about restoring the company’s long-term health and reputation!
Facebook and Twitter
Bad news travels immediately on these social networks
Recognize that there will always be someone that has a bias against you or
your company
On Your Website/Blog
Post your press release on the Home Page ASAP
Include the contact information of the designated spokesperson
Reputation Management on Google
Positive press releases to move negative results to the second or third page
Set up Google Alerts for your company name
When to call for professional crisis communications help?
There is an impending or current crisis and don’t want to weather it alone
PR Firms help you respond to negative comments in a way that turns crisis
into opportunity
How? Using an authentic and personal response,
sharing relative content etc.
We will help you acknowledge people’s feelings in a powerful way to
strengthen your brand
PR Firms help you respond quickly, and have
specialized reputation management strategies
Social media contributes to the recovery of an
offline crisis
Outsources social media and Google Alerts monitoring 24/7
The crisis is fluid and rapidly changing, so you need a 3rd
party outside of the company
Remind all employees that only the designated spokesperson can speak to
the media
Be transparent with the PR consultant
In conclusion, we covered: 1) The Crisis Communications Mindset 2) Developing a Plan and 3) Tactics
