How to Communicate Proactively During a Crisis

I've been managing PR for the fastest-growing startups for over 12 years. 8 of the most valuable hacks we use for our clients (that you can use today): 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 • Regularly brainstorm potential brand vulnerabilities • Develop responsive strategies Mapping these out lets you act fast when challenges arise. Anticipation is your first line of defense. With it, you're not reactive. You're two steps ahead. 𝗣𝘂𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 In today's digital world, perception shifts rapidly. Harness sentiment analysis tools to constantly monitor your brand's digital perception. The earlier you spot a shift, the quicker you can intervene. Real-time insights can save reputations. 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 A brand's voice can be its downfall or saving grace during crises. Train your founders, train your key staff. Implement media training focused on crisis communication. Prepared spokespeople control narratives — even in chaos. 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 Society's sensitivities can change fast. Engage in social listening exercises to stay informed. • Understand the shifts • Identify potential pitfalls • Address areas of concern Don't fear cancel culture – move in harmony with societal changes. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Prioritize open, honest communication — especially during crises. • Admit errors and outline actionable steps • Release detailed, regular updates • Address rumors head-on Transparency fosters trust. It can mitigate potential backlash. 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗸𝗶𝘁 A PR Swiss Army Knife — your key to survival during crises. Maintain an updated set of: • Contacts • Pre-approved messages • Action plans for various scenarios When pressure mounts, this toolkit is your lifeline for well-executed crisis management. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹𝘀 Mistakes happen. Design a framework for public apologies, ensuring they're: • Timely • Genuine • Appropriate A heartfelt apology can go a long way in damage control and brand rehabilitation. It elevates brand stature in the public eye. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 After any PR challenge, conduct a thorough post-mortem analysis: • Understand the issue • Refine your strategies • Strengthen defenses Past challenges hold valuable lessons. Use them to navigate future threats. Don't drop the ball. Enjoyed this? You’ll love my newsletter where I talk about strategic communication, crisis management and public affairs: https://lnkd.in/g8MF5-6g

How do you prevent mayhem when crises occur that affect you and your team? Bridges collapse. Criminals mow down innocent victims. CEOs have heart attacks. Contagious diseases spread. Layoffs happen. Such crises create havoc as misinformation and fear run rampant through an organization or team. So what’s your part in calming the hysteria among your team? Communication. Communication that’s current, consistent, and complete. When I’ve consulted on handling crisis communication previously, I often get this question from bosses: “But how can I tell people what’s going on when we haven’t yet investigated and don’t have the facts?” That’s never an excuse for delayed communication. Be mindful that when people don’t have the facts, they tend to make them up. In a communication void, people pass on what they think, fear, or imagine. Noise. Keep these communication tips in mind to be part of the solution, not the noise: ▶ Tell what you know as soon as you know it. ▶ State what information you don’t have and tell people what you’re investigating. ▶ Stifle the urge to comment on/add to rumors, fears, guesses. ▶ Communicate concern specifically to those directly affected. ▶ Offer tangible support when you can (time, money, acts of kindness). ▶ Communicate kudos to those working behind the scenes. Accurate, speedy communication creates relationships and cultures that build trust and encourage loyalty. Have you been affected by a crisis? Was it handled well or poorly? Outlandish rumors that circulated? #CrisisCommunication #LeadershipCommunication #BusinessCommunication #ProfessionalCommunication #DiannaBooher #BooherResearch

This week I posted about leaders who fail during a crisis because I have seen that happen during the course of my career. In reality, leadership isn’t tested in calm waters — it’s forged in crisis. Too many leaders panic during a crisis. Even more disappear during it. And far too few prepare before one ever hits. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: If you wait for the storm to start leading, it’s already too late. ✅ BEFORE the crisis Build real trust, not just policies. Create a communication plan that doesn’t rely on “winging it.” Run what-if scenarios like your reputation depends on it — because it does. Empower your team to act without you. Crisis slows down command-and-control leaders. Decentralize now. Have a plan and use it. ✅ DURING the crisis Over-communicate. Even if you don’t have all the answers, say what you do know and what you’re doing about it. A void in communication will be filled with something by someone. Don't take that chance. Communicate in many methods and forums. People need to hear the same message more than once and in more than one way. Be visible, calm, and human. The team doesn’t need a hero — they need a leader who shows up. Focus on clarity over certainty. You can’t promise outcomes, but you can be honest about the path. ✅ AFTER the crisis Don’t just move on — debrief hard. What failed? What worked? Who stepped up? A solid After Action Review is a blueprint to make your crisis plan even better. Give recognition where it’s due. Silence after sacrifice kills morale. Institutionalize the learnings. The next crisis is already in the pipeline. Will you be ready? Leadership isn’t about having a plan for every crisis. It’s about building a culture that doesn’t crumble when the plan falls apart. ❓ So, leaders — the question isn’t “What do we do when a crisis hits?” The REAL question is: What are you doing RIGHT NOW to make sure your team survives the next one?

I recently had the pleasure of presenting on crisis comms to a group of Central Washington University students. It’s a topic I get asked about all the time, so sharing 6 key learnings I usually highlight: 1) Preparation is key – If you wait until you are in a crisis to think about your plans, you’re starting at a huge deficit. Scenario plan early and build out as much process/content as you can so you have a running start when the time comes. With careful planning and an early warning system in place, you may even be able to intercept an issue before it turns into a full-blown crisis. 2) Stakeholders (and their roles) matter – A critical part of preparedness: who needs to be involved and in what capacity. Who is the decision maker, who needs to be informed, who is part of the working group, etc. It will vary based on the situation, so see point #1 and get this sorted out in advance. Including how to reach people after hours. 3) Get the facts first ­– Resist the urge to “message” a situation or talk tactics until you understand the facts, including what is unknown. A comms strategy is only as good as the data it is based on; faulty information = faulty strategy. 4) Consider ALL audiences – Customers, partners, employees, the local community, etc. Again, it will vary by situation but things can go sideways fast if you forget about a major audience. You need to own your story across all of them. Pro tip: If you find yourself prioritizing press as your top audience (vs. say, customers or employees), you’re probably doing it wrong. 😊 5) Third parties can tip the scales – They can work in your favor or they can keep fanning the flames. For any given situation think about who can be an advocate…and who is likely to be a detractor. For those who are advocates, remember to nurture those relationships over time vs. simply tapping them when you need something. 6) Practice, practice, practice – The best way to ferret out gaps is to do a few practice drills. But don’t pick a day/time where everyone is around, has time available, etc. Mimic a real scenario which likely includes a couple key people being on vacation, on the road, tied up in all day meetings, etc. The final bit of advice I give people: keep calm. Comms leaders have a unique opportunity to set the tone. Showing up as calm and in control can go a long way to settling others’ nerves. (And yes, it’s completely fair to be stressing out internally/privately.) Joe Tradii thanks again for the opportunity to spend time with your students! #PR #CrisisComms #VoxusPR

You have to be the first person to tell your client about the screw-up. A timely #failurefriday post. Many of us were impacted by the cell outage yesterday, some lost all modes of communication, others just cell service. My life didn't change one bit. My daughter thought the world was ending. Even though nothing changed for me, I still wanted to know why I could not use the device that I paid for to access a service that I paid greatly for. I had to dig deep to find a DailyMail.com clip about the outage. When I walk my clients through their Crisis Proof Your Business checklist (link in the comments) we plan what happens when we cannot meet our clients' expectations because of a FUBAR. We plan it and we rehearse it. When we discover an event - such as 70% of our clients being unable to use the service we are paid t provide - we have one main rule: ***The Client Must Hear About the Disruptions From Us First*** The message is this: 1. There is an interruption. 2. We apologize for the inconvenience. 3. We are working to restore service as fast as possible. and then keep them updated. Our Crisis plan also includes alternative communications that happen simultaneously (in case our mode of communication is the missing piece.) 1. Update the website (that is the first place I go). 2. Broadcast the message in all formats (autodial, text, social media). 3. Issue a press statement. Let your clients know about the issue in every mode possible. Want to instill loyalty and nurture trust? Build in this practice. Those impacted will respect that you cared enough to let them know. Those not impacted will KNOW that you care for them. CTA - Practice your crisis communications (even you solos). PS - Have you Crisis Proofed your Business? Shoot me a DM.

When I reflect back on the wireless outage from yesterday, I look for lessons learned, and applicable teaching moments for those of us in the #financialservices industry. While there was a level of frustration, personally, as I made the peaceful 5:45 AM drive to Uptown Charlotte without the ability to stream my favorite songs, I realized there's probably a deeper impact to others. So where's the parallel to banking???? #communitybanks and #creditunions are critical infrastructure, just as mobile networks are. In our connected world, banking has transformed making it more dependent on third and often times fourth party vendors to provide banking channels to your customers and members. I couldn't get to my banking app yesterday without being connected to Wi-Fi, therefore, my banking app was essentially down. The lack of communication for this incident was the biggest misstep in this situation; therefore, the most significant reminder on the importance of communicating to your customers (regardless of industry). Not proactively communicating led to rumors of a cyberattack and other falsehoods which makes it tougher to have confidence that this was actually an upgrade issue. If you're a bank or credit union, use this example as an opportunity to do the following: 1️⃣ Tabletop tests and see how you'd do if your institution, or one of you partners, went down. 2️⃣ Review your communication plan for a similar outage (including talking to your vendors)- making sure your employees and customers are in the loop will be key. 3️⃣ Review the change management policy & procedures on IT changes to confirm you have an appropriate backout script if the updates don't work. 4️⃣ Make sure your #cybersecurity infrastructure remains up and monitoring for any unresponsive systems impacted by the outage. If you don't feel you're prepared for an event like this at your institution, reach out to me- I'd be happy to review options! If it can happen at a company like #ATT, it can happen to you. #clapromise #DRpreparedness #cybersecurity #communicationplans #criticalinfrastructure