Crisis Communication

•Crises are inevitable.

•How an organization handles a crisis is
paramount to its being able to weather the
event.
Understanding the relationship of
crisis in Specific organizations
• Some use crisis to their advantage
– Emerge larger than before the crisis
– Use the event as a “PR” image event
– Maintain stable revenues
• Others crumble under the burden of crisis
– Lost revenues
– Loss of focus
– Underestimaters of the disaster
 Did you know?
• A single crisis could alter your life and
career.

• How the crisis is handled or mishandled

will impact individuals, company,
community, and possibly the world.
Business Communication is more than
effective speaking and writing
• In a crisis, managers must know their:
– Audience
– Goal
– Message
– Source
– Support and information
– Feedback
 Audience
• Where are they?
• How will you reach them?
• Is a public press conference needed?
• Can you contact all interested parties? Do
you have a complete, up-to-date list?
• What words should you use to notify your
customers? What is their demographic
composition?
 Goal
• Why are you communicating with the
audience? What is the purpose? Is it going to
help or worsen the situation?
• Will your message clarify existing
information?
• Are rumors misinforming the public?
• What is your motive, if any?
• Are you ready to communicate trust and
reissuance of your product or service?
 Source
• Who is responsible for conveying
information for your company?
• Does that person possess strong, effective
communication skills? Is that person too
technical? Not technical enough?
• Is the spokesperson credible?
• How should the message be delivered--in
person, videoconference, other channel?
• Should a two way dialogue be allowed?
 Support and information
• Internal
• External
• Who or what does the company use to
establish a credible image or existence.
 Feedback
• How did the company learn of the crisis?
• How effective was their response to the internal and
external environments?
• Were mistakes made in the communication process?
• How were these mistakes corrected?
• Who was offended, isolated, left out of the
communication loop?
• Which messages were most effective, least
effective? Why?
 For example…..
• Los Angeles: (during Daryl Gates reign as police
chief) The LAPD’s chief responded to a media
barrage because a police suspect was killed while
being subdued with a choke hold. The inquiry
should have centered on the questions of excessive
force.
• *Rehearsal is Vital and when the responses are
viewed negatively, they bring further outrage.
 And the rest of the story...
• Chief Gates, in his attempt to explain why a
choke hold would kill a black suspect easier
than a white one, said that blacks are built
differently than normal people.

• *That unfortunate comment became the

story that spread nationally. The media lost
interest in the original story
 What not to say!
• National Law Journal
– Nix Used Car Center, Columbia, SC was ordered
by a jury to pay customer Tommy Carter $73,300
because the company libeled Carter when he
complained about service.
– Customer Carter, unhappy with repair service,
repeatedly drove car in front of store with huge
sign that read “Nix Lemon”
– Dealership: responded with a sign that read,
“Carter is a faggot.”
 Don’t blame us!
• Enron
• Firestone
• Johnson & Johnson
• Gerber
• Exxon Valdez
• Cigarette industry
 Think about...
• What should you do as the PR relations
contact person?
• Do you need to contact the local media ?
• Should you recall the canned food product
from stores ?
• Decide on the proper memo to send your
staff, employees, customers, and
stakeholders about the alleged charges?
 And….
• What contingency plan should be in place for
such a time?
• What resources are needed when such a crisis
occurs?
• What do you tell the news media? What type of
press release would you draft?
• What about your company production standards,
how will you handle this problem?
 Assignment
• Assignment:
– Your restaurant was approached yesterday afternoon by a
local Los Angeles news station. The tv station barged into
your restaurant with producer and film crew and videotaped
your kitchen environment and operations. The story about
your restaurant aired on the news channel last night. The tv
station showed scenes of cockroach eggs and cockroaches in
the supply room. There were pictures of uncovered meat
lying in filthy, blood covered refrigeration units. The sinks
were full of dirty, grease and scum water and food was being
prepared on counter tops covered with food debris from other
preparations. The floors were filthy and caked with food
debris as well.
 And to make matters worse...
• You discover today that the Los Angeles Times
newspaper called to let you know that they will be
running a story on food establishments and plan to
use your restaurant as an expose piece. Now, you
find out that one of your former customers claims
that mice have been seen scurrying on various
occasions around the dining area.
• Now, what do you do?
 The Never-ending Story of Crisis
Communication
• A Crisis is inevitable.
• A Crisis can strike at any time: from a natural disaster to an
outraged customer who seeks vendetta. A crisis can come
from a whistleblower or disgruntled employee to a
corporate spy. A crisis can come from a mislabeled product
or undetected surgical procedure.
• A crisis is always looming on the surface. The company
must be prepared to carry out its crisis plan in an effective
and efficient manner.