This document provides guidance on crisis communications for a consulting client. It outlines best practices for establishing credibility, designating a single spokesperson, providing regular updates, and being transparent with available information. When a crisis occurs, key steps include gathering facts, convening a crisis team, developing messaging, identifying audiences, and leveraging media and social media to control the narrative. Post-crisis, companies should evaluate media coverage and debrief to identify successes and areas for improvement to update crisis plans.

1. WEBINAR: EXTERNAL CRISIS COMMUNIATIONS for Consulting Client
Crisis Communications Do’s:
• Establish your Credibility/Take Control
• Stop speculation about a situation;
• Establish credibility as a reliable source of information;
• Take control of an incident and the flow of information, subject to the involvement of outside
authorities.
• Be absolutely certain of facts. Do not over-react to or underestimate the situation.
Select ONE Spokesperson for external communication. Having several voices explaining the same
circumstances in different ways destroys credibility. It is crucial that one authoritative spokesperson be
designated to handle communications.
All available information, as long as it does not involve security or confidential issues, or legal ramifications
should be made public.
1. Cover all bases and all of the important subjects. If information on a particular area is not released
in detail, questions will focus on it and make it seem far more crucial than it may be.
2. Provide regular updates. Frequent updates build trust and credibility. Lapses in the information
flow will stimulate speculation and heighten anxiety. Be certain of your information before providing
it publicly.
3. Realize that the less people know about what is going on, the more they fear the possible
consequences. That breeds speculation and rumor especially internally among employees!
4. Recognize that because we live in an increasingly technological world, that is now 24/7 ‘real time’
due to social media the potential for crisis increases too.
5. The more complex things are, the more possibilities there are for disruptions.
6. Management must plan for crisis communications early on. Companies must anticipate a crisis
before it occurs, and have a communications plan prepared for use.
7. Crisis management plans must be in place, and personnel must follow guidelines, both in
responding to the crisis and in responding to the media.
Media Relations Preparation
Initiate Media Training
Media play a critical role as the ultimate selector of an issue. Editors select what should be on the front
page, who should be interviewed, and editorial policies. A company is vulnerable if its representatives fail to
communicate positions well, in a manner that is both acceptable to the media and beneficial for the company
and its key audiences (particularly employees).
Initial media training should be supplemented by additional rehearsals and briefings on specific
instances at the time of the crisis on a daily basis to evaluate and change positions. It is best to
ensure that professional training is provided to executives who may not have experience in crisis situations
and media interaction.
• Ensure that all resource materials are prepared and updated by the Crisis Communications Team.
Prepare media lists, including names of contacts (news media) and telephone numbers.

2. • The spokesperson/ designate is expected to be very familiar with the process that will be required
for effective media relations.
• Effective media relations results in reaching vast audiences quickly and accurately. This process is
extremely important, both during a crisis and at other times, to bolster the company’s reputation—
and its credibility.
• The most important aspect of any public statement in a crisis situation is to demonstrate
responsible action, concern and control.
Checklist for Crisis Planning:
• Establish a crisis communication team
The team should consist of senior executives, including legal team and respective employees
pertinent to crisis handling.
• Have handy all phone and cell numbers and e-mail addresses for crisis communication
team members
If a crisis occurs after hours, crisis communication team members will need to be reached at home
or at other locations. These numbers should be compiled BEFORE a crisis strikes and should be
continuously updated.
• Prepare a Standby Statement
The format of a statement can be drawn up and approved in advance. Accurate details can be
inserted at the time of the event. This will save time during an actual crisis.
• Compile a Crisis Kit
The crisis kit should contain all of the above items and lists, along with key media lists both
national, regional and trade depending on nature of crisis and geographic location.
Planning for Crisis Situations:
Different types of crises call for different responses. It is important to identify a crisis while it is still in its early
stages. Some may be minor; others severe. Examples of crisis situations:
• Sudden—An immediate, unforeseen crisis, with either
a. Massive Lives at Risk/Lost, (examples: hurricane, large fire, flood, riot, chemical spill,) or
b. Individual Lives at Risk/Lost (examples: car accident, murder, small fire, meningitis
outbreak, health risk)
▪ Any crisis that involves injury, or where lives are at risk, the first action is to move
quickly and communicate information publicly regarding situation and ‘stick to the
facts’
c. Safety, generally involving an injury to an employee or another external stakeholder; make
sure the Crisis Communications Team has a copy of your company’s Safety procedures
for easy reference.
d. Product recall—important to ensure that any type of product call is ‘publicly’ disseminated
and a means for inquiries to be handled in a timely manner; best to have a section of
website with this information easy to find by customers, vendors, etc.
e. Legal filings, lawsuits, discrimination suits; generally, any legal crisis situation should be
handled with your Legal department to ensure ‘no liability’ to company; Any statements to
the media should be carefully reviewed and approved by your Legal department. In a legal
matter it is generally best to limit media contact as to avoid any ‘misstatements’ that could
lead to liability for the company down the road.
• Smoldering—An ongoing, festering crisis that begins small and grows larger as more
information becomes known.
This type of crisis can drag out and result in bad press for weeks, months or even years. These
types of crisis situations should be resolved as quickly as possible. Officials should try to anticipate
future developments and mitigate them.

3. What To Do When a Crisis Occurs:
When a crisis strikes, it is essential to take immediate action. The key to success is to obtain the information
and facts quickly, confirm its accuracy, disseminate the information as quickly as possible and prepare to
address the situation as it unfolds. The following steps should be taken as soon as the crisis is identified:
Action Steps:
• Gather the facts, confirm, verify and check again to ensure the facts are correct; correcting
‘misinformation’ later will result in ‘loss of credibility’ and media backlash and negative slant on
company.
• Convene the crisis communication team
The core team members should immediately convene (either in person or via teleconference) and
decide the first course of action. Since this must be done swiftly, the core members should take the
lead, and then bring in the rest of the team if the crisis warrants such action.
• Develop an action plan for communication, dissemination; and very important to ensure that
employees are made aware of any crisis situation; control the message. When a crisis
occurs, it is important that there is a strong line of communication internally; employees should not
have to read about a crisis in the media or on social media, this will cause panic, speculation and
rumors. Transparency is important.
• Assign responsibility to each Crisis Team member for related action items; designate one
person to compile report on steps taken, challenges, and issues that arose and compile and
monitor any media coverage for sharing with Crisis Team and senior executives of your
company.
• Designate a command center and/or media center
Based on the type of crisis and your company’s needs, designate a command center and/or media
center. Also, may be a good idea to have contacts for outside agency sources should an outside
crisis communications agency be necessary for support and counsel as well as a list of vendor
resources for media monitoring.
• Prepare a statement and background information and FAQs as necessary
Tailor the standby statement to the events that are unfolding and prepare background information
for the media. In all documents, stick to the facts and don't speculate and always, always ensure
that your Legal department has reviewed before disseminating anything to the media.
Communication:
• Identify key audiences
Determine which internal and external stakeholders need to be informed of the situation, and in
what order
• Designate a company spokesperson (if global best to have regional spokespeople as
appropriate)
It is best to designate only one spokesperson, so your company is providing a unified, consistent
message to the public. The spokesperson must be kept informed of the latest developments, it is
advised that the spokesperson is someone who is ‘savvy’ in dealing with the media or receives
appropriate training/counsel.
• Provide guidance to the public
If the crisis involves a health risk, offer guidance to the public about symptoms, treatments, and to
contact physicians. If the crisis involves a possible evacuation, officials should inform the public
about areas to be evacuated and timelines for the evacuations.
• Develop messages
Beyond any standby statement; the crisis communications team should develop a few clear, simple
messages for its stakeholders and the media. These messages should be delivered repeatedly and
clearly and by one voice. Depending on the nature of the crisis, this can be done verbally or via
written document via email with the media, this will ensure that any message is NOT taken out of
context by the media.
• VERY IMPORTANT: The messages should demonstrate concern about what is happening and for
the people involved and should explain what the company is doing to solve the problem. It is

4. important to convey compassion and empathy and again, ALWAYS make sure any messaging is
reviewed and approved by your Legal Department to ensure there is ‘no risk or liability’ to the
company.
• Anticipate the tough questions
The crisis team should make a list of all possible tough questions that the media or the public might
ask. By composing responses to these questions, the spokesperson can be better prepared for
interviews and press briefings.
• Communicate the message and the facts
The facts of the crisis, an official statement and the key message(s) should be communicated to
external stakeholders, such as media, analyst, customers, etc. For internal audiences, use
broadcast e-mail, broadcast voice mail, a company intranet, mobile devices, but remember that
nowadays anything communicated electronically can make its way to ANYONE!
• Leverage Social media for real time update or holding press briefings or issuing official statements
or a video webcast, teleconference or video message, this way you can control the message.
• Timing is Critical depending on the crisis, any public statement should come out and be issued
ASAP following determination of crisis situation; with a 24/7 news cycle immediacy is critical, but
also critical not to jump the gun until all facts are known and course of action.
• Control the message
Remember to always stick to the facts and to the main messages, thus controlling what information
is disseminated. This information should be completely truthful and forthcoming. All "bad" news
should be told up-front and all at once; otherwise, it will trickle out slowly and the negative media
coverage will continue day after day. Of course, sometimes the amount of information needs to be
‘limited’ to prevent any damage, liability or financial loss to the company.
• Control the flow of information
Public Affairs or designated crisis team member should control the flow of information by holding a
series of press briefings for the media—weekly, daily, or hourly, depending upon the nature of the
crisis. This enables the crisis team to operate in a proactive manner, while providing the media with
a timetable for when they can expect an update.
• Keep track of media calls, requests
The spokesperson should keep a list of all the reporters to whom he/she talks and document with
notes on information asked and shared.
• Respond to the media quickly and fairly
The media and social media provides a way for your company to get its message to the public. The
media will also shape public opinion about how your company is responding to the crisis.
Therefore, it is important to cooperate with the media, to be sensitive to media deadlines and to
provide all reporters with the same information—no exclusive stories.
• Dispel the rumors
During times of crisis, rumors run rampant. If false rumors become prevalent, the spokesperson will
need to dispel them publicly.
• Issue joint press releases with city and state officials, if necessary. When the crisis is citywide or
statewide, stay in contact with city and state officials, and possibly issue joint or complementary
press releases with those officials.
• Set good policy
Setting a strong company policy is the best way to avoid a crisis and to avoid criticism. No amount
of good public relations can make up for bad policy.
• Do the right thing
Being ethical and doing what's right for those involved in a crisis will automatically lead to good
public relations. Public relations cannot (and should not) hide things or lie about things.
• Choose words and phrases carefully
Don't unnecessarily panic constituents by being overly dramatic. If possible, use language that will
ease the public's concern while still being truthful.
• You can control the Outcome
Anyone involved in a crisis can be portrayed by the media as a victim, a villain or a hero. And the
best outcome is being viewed as a hero and this is easily achieved when acting responsibly and
taking the appropriate action. Doing "the right thing" is the best public relations strategy. Good
public relations cannot help a bad policy or poor decision-making.

5. IMPORTANT: Aspects of the above should be leveraged for internal communication, it is critically important
when in crisis mode that there is consistency of messaging for both internal and external. It is particularly
important that before external communication, internal communications should occur first to ensure
transparency with employees and policies in place for employees.
Post Crisis Evaluation
Sometimes experience is the best teacher. After the crisis is over, it is beneficial l to evaluate how your
company handled the crisis situation. Knowing what was done well and what could have been done better
will only help refine the crisis communication plan and make it more effective in the future.
• Have a good source for media coverage
The best way to evaluate the outcome, especially with the media is to monitor the media both
social, digital and traditional. Evaluate how your company’s actions were covered by the press
including social media monitoring, comments, sharing, etc, this will help form future media
strategies and may result in changes for your overall Crisis Communications plan and strategy.
• Utilizing external sources for media monitoring. Reports can be generated with scoring based
on negative, positive or neutral media coverage
• Media Wrap Up Reporting. While media coverage should be developed daily and weekly during a
crisis, a comprehensive summary of media coverage and summary should be done to document
for senior management and for ‘lessons learned’.
• Debrief
The crisis communication team should convene after the crisis ends to evaluate every action taken
and the crisis communication plan itself. It is important to learn from successes and from mistakes
and plan accordingly. Following any crisis, it is important to be open to constructive criticism and
work together on improving the process.
• Evaluation, another good practice is to have a template questionnaire available that can be shared
with all parties involved in handling the crisis to obtain ‘honest and candid’ feedback for further
evaluation and modification to overall crisis communications strategy.
• Update and Modify Crisis Plan
To ensure that the plan works and is kept up to date, it should be tested and evaluated annually.