By Kelsey Granlund
Crisis Communications
How to correctly respond to anything that is deemed a
“crisis” to the media and general population is critical. Advance planning and
brainstorming is necessary before going out and addressing the public to avoid
any sense of a cover up or a bad imagine. Remember the video in class of the
Exxon CEO? That was pretty bad communication. Here’s the checklist of key
points to remember about crisis communication:
-
Break your own bad news first.
-
Be aware of all the fact before speaking
-
Have a strategy for each audience
-
Develop factual message that are understood by
everyone
-
Don’t neglect the employees, it doesn’t look
good to have your own employees find out the bad news through the media.
-
Discuss the solution to the problem and how it
will be done quickly and as openly as possible. Being honest is key, if
anything is hidden it will be discovered and it will destroy a reputation.
-
Use all tools at your disposal such as a web
site, public relations service, and social media.
-
Be consistence in communicating with the general
public.
-
Learn from experience and always plan for future
scenarios
We also had a guest speaker for a half of the class,
Danielle Piacente, who is PR manager for the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC. She
gave us a good insight on what I was like to work for PR for a good event.
-
Have a sort of “cheat sheet” with you that helps
keep everything in order so you don’t forget a certain event or such.
-
Be sure to not delay in getting information to
someone who needs it.
-
Be creative in how to promote an event and
having certain back up plans in case of a problem.
Homework:
Write the press release for the polar bear story and email
it in by Sunday at 12:00
Do exercise #3 on the same hand out
No comments:
Post a Comment