Don’t Turn a Crisis into a Disaster

August 12th, 2009 by Julie Napieralski

We talk often about crisis planning and management at Martino Flynn. After all, it’s one of our specialties. Today we’re in an environment – fueled by our struggling economy – where organizations are facing tough issues that put their reputation at risk on what seems to be a daily basis. Stories of bailouts, bankruptcies, and executive compensation are consuming traditional and online media channels. And these are just a few of the issues.

The pure volume of media coverage surrounding these economic issues brings to light just how important it is to communicate effectively with the media in times of crisis. Make no mistake, the companies that rise above the media’s scrutiny and preserve their reputation during a crisis are doing something right.

So what is the best way to deal with the media when faced with a crisis? In Judith Hoffman’s Keeping Cool on the Hot Seat, she reviews the 10 “C’s” of good crisis communications. This is an excellent summary of effective media relations practice:

1. Be Cooperative. Establish an atmosphere of cooperation with the media. They have a job to do. Help them do it.
2. Provide Control. Make sure you know who your spokespeople are talking to, when they are conducting interviews, and what they are saying. You want to ensure message consistency, so keep a close eye on these things.
3. Demonstrate Caring and Concern. Show that you are sincerely concerned about those who are affected by your crisis. Don’t be callous, as it would be an easy way to quickly damage your reputation.
4. Demonstrate Competence. Have your key messages ready before you communicate with the media. Don’t respond to a question if you don’t know the answer. You need to convey confidence and show that you are on top of the situation.
5. Be Credible. This should go without saying, but never lie to the media. And don’t speculate either. Speculation can be perceived as a lie, even if you don’t mean it that way.
6. Be Consistent. Only offer information to the media that is based on facts. This is the best way to ensure consistency.
7. Be Clear. Don’t fill your messages with industry jargon. Keep your message simple, and in terms that most people can understand.
8. Be Concise. Stay on message. Don’t say more than you need to as you’ll risk clouding your message with less important information that could be picked up by the media.
9. Remain Current. Communicate with the media regularly during a crisis. Don’t let hours go by without an update of some kind.
10. Act Calm. Keep your cool. When managing a crisis, adrenaline is pumping and stress levels are high. The media and your organization are depending on you to communicate effectively. Don’t become a YouTube travesty.

— Julie Napieralski

This entry was posted by Julie Napieralski on Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 and is filed under Communication, MF, Media Relations, Public Relations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.