These eight tips can help your company navigate a PR crisis as smoothly as possible.

1. 8 Crisis Communications
Tips Every PR Pro Needs to
Know
RACHAEL HESLING

2. In today’s world of rapid information sharing, a PR crisis can strike your organization
at any time. But while such crises are always stressful, they don’t have to spell disaster
for your company. If you’re a PR pro or work with journalists as a member of your
organization’s communications team, these key crisis communications tips can help
you minimize the impact of a PR crisis and defuse the situation before it gets out of
hand.

3. Prepare a Crisis Plan Ahead of Time
The most important thing you can do to control a PR crisis is prepare for it; don’t wait
until a crisis hits to figure out how you should respond. To create a game plan that
will be ready to go in any situation, it’s helpful to make lists of possible circumstances.
These should encompass events out of your control, like an employee injury, as well
as those you know about in advance, like layoffs or major product changes. Think
through what events might instigate these situations, and frame the actions which will
need to be taken in each case. This will provide everyone in your organization with a
useful “script” to follow when disaster strikes.

4. Lay Proper Crisis Support Groundwork
Another important aspect of preparing for a
crisis is ensuring that authority and
responsibility are properly designated
beforehand. Set up a crisis support team,
prepare content, determine where and how
you will establish information centers, and
identify how communication will be routed a
crisis. Running mockups of various crises at
regular intervals will help keep your team
ready to respond. Practice will also allow you
to alter aspects of your crisis plan that aren’t
working well.

5. Send a Unified Message
When a crisis does occur, maintaining unity of voice and message is vital. If a dozen
people in your company are saying different things, it will be impossible to avoid
injuring your company’s reputation. Instead, a central spokesperson should be
designated in advance who has the knowledge, authority, and public speaking skills
necessary to communicate on behalf of the entire organization. This person should be
easily reached, and should deliver a clear, consistent message. It is very important to
uphold a clear chain of command here. No one besides the spokesperson should
speak about the situation to members of the public or the media.

6. Rehearse What to Say
Again, a thorough level of preparedness is essential in helping your spokesperson
successfully navigate crisis communications. This means that this person should have
clear statements about the situation prepared beforehand that rely on established
facts and avoid conjecture. If there is an aspect of the crisis that the spokesperson
does not have the knowledge or understanding to discuss, he or she should be
honest about that. Additionally, he or she should avoid disclosing more than
necessary or offering detrimental material. It can also be helpful to anticipate
challenging questions that may be asked, and practice answering appropriately.

7. Develop Supplemental Materials
A big part of effective crisis communications is simplifying complex issues as much as
possible for the media and the public. To this end, brochures or fact sheets about
your company -- in particular, about the area in which the crisis has occurred -- are
highly useful tools. They reduce the chances that the situation will be interpreted
incorrectly due to a simple lack of information.

8. Be Proactive
Crises are more easily defused if your company can
take control of the conversation from the beginning.
Don’t wait until you’re forced to go on the defensive
and reply to questions that didn’t need to be asked.
Acknowledge the problem and make it clear that it is
being dealt with; demonstrate empathy and take
accountability. At the same time, disseminate facts
and accurate information about the situation as
quickly as possible. Acting promptly and proactively
allows your company to frame and direct the
discussion before it gets away from you.

9. Track What’s Being Said
Just as important as what your company says is what others are saying about your
company. Stay on top of the conversation as much as possible. These days, this likely
means extensive observation of social medial channels and other forms of digital
communication. Modify your crisis plan accordingly in order to deal with changes in
public opinion. Again, being proactive in framing and directing the conversation is
important here. Do not ignore growing negative reports or comments that come up.
Instead, address them in a simple and matter-of-fact way and correct any
misinformation that may be making the rounds.

10. Be Patient
It can take some time for a PR crisis to die down, so remember to be patient. You
shouldn’t expect the situation to go away after your spokesperson has done their first
interview. Keep the lines of communication from your company open and flowing,
even if there is no fresh news to report; stay active in the conversation.