The Delta Media P.R. Clinic

Communicating in times of crisis

By Bernard Gauthier, MA
Managing Partner

It is wise for organizations to consider how they will communicate in the event of a crisis before a crisis hits. A crisis can take many forms, of course – from an accusation of wrong doing to a high profile failure, from an accident in the workplace to sabotage or other criminal activity. Although each crisis is unique, some fundamental communication techniques offer a good starting point.

Be Visible

If your association is embroiled in a crisis of any sort, your members, the public and other stakeholders will expect you to be even more open and transparent than usual. Avoiding the hard questions now will only erode trust in your organization and open the door to critics and detractors who will dominate media coverage even more. Now is the time to step forward in a planned way and be proactive in ensuring your organization’s voice is heard loud and clear.

Limit the Spokespeople

A crisis situation is one of the worst times for an organization to contradict itself. While respecting the right of all people in this country to express themselves as individuals, a good crisis communication plan should identify a very limited number of people (perhaps one in each official language) who will speak on behalf of the organization. All others should know ahead of time to defer to the identified spokesperson(s). Be sure that individual is fully briefed and fully accessible – every minute counts in a crisis situation. You can also expect that reporters will try to find other people to speak on behalf of the organization. Dissention in the ranks during a crisis can make for good headlines.

Limit the Messages

Given the speed with which crises unfold and the higher levels of emotion, it’s advisable to keep things simple when it comes to key messages. Avoid any speculation or hypothetical questions and stick to the facts you know. Start by focusing on the current situation – what exactly has happened. Once that is clear, be prepared to explain what steps the organization is taking to better understand what happened – the root causes of the crisis. Finally, once you have a good grasp of the first two items – and this may take days or weeks – be prepared to explain what steps the organization is taking to prevent similar crises in the future.

Control the Pace

There is a tendency during a crisis for people to want all the answers now. However, rushing forward with answers you later have to retract can seriously erode confidence. Communicate regularly but ensure you only communicate the facts you know for certain. If you’re not sure about a fact, say so, explain what you’re doing to find out and promise to share the information once you have it. Of course, be sure to follow through with your promise.

Plan Ahead

When a crisis hits and emotions run high, quick and smart decisions on how to communicate will be more difficult to make. A basic crisis communication plan can be a valuable asset and should lay out in advance:

• Who will speak on behalf of the organization
• Where they will speak from
• Guidelines for developing and approving messages

Make sure the plan is approved at the highest level so that implementation is automatic once crisis hits.

Empathize

This is a subtle point but an important one. Too often, crisis situations devolve into a public fight between the “good” and “evil.” Reality is rarely that simple. One thing you can do to prevent this is to ensure your spokesperson shows empathy. Even though most of your messages will be focused on explaining what happened and protecting your organization’s reputation, you also need to take time to acknowledge any person or group who has suffered a loss of some sort (i.e. injury or loss of life, financial loss, loss of reputation, etc.). A crisis is a good time to put a human face to the organization.

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