Crisis Communication
Crisis essay assignment
Crisis essay assignment
Based on information from Doorley, J., & Garcia, H. F. (2015). Reputation management:
The key to successful public relations and corporate communications (3rd edn.).
New York: Routledge. © Taylor and Francis 2015
Introduction
One of the core roles of the corporate communication function is to help organizations and their leaders make decisions and communicate clearly when something goes wrong
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What is a Crisis?
A crisis is a non-routine event that risks undesired visibility that in turn threatens significant reputational damage
Companies need to be prepared in two ways for crises:
They need to understand what constitutes a crisis in the first place
They need an early warning system
© Taylor and Francis 2015
Is It a Crisis?
Ask these questions
Is this a non-routine event?
Does it risk undesired visibility?
Would that undesired visibility in turn threaten reputational damage?
If the answer to one or more of these is yes, a crisis exists
© Taylor and Francis 2015
Crisis Management
Decisions we make at a turning point moment, where our destiny is determined one way or another—toward danger or toward opportunity; where we lose our reputation or gain our reputation
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Ideogram for Crisis: wei ji = danger + opportunity
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Timeliness of Response: The “Golden Hour” of Crisis Response
The early phases when the opportunity to influence the outcome is the greatest
Not an exact timeframe
Incremental delays have a greater-than-incremental impact on the likelihood of success
© Taylor and Francis 2015
Timeliness of Response: Ten Avoidable Mis-steps
Ignore the problem
Deny the severity of the problem
Compartmentalize the problem or solution
Tell misleading half-truths
Lie
Tell only part of the story; let the story dribble out
Assign blame
Over-confess
Panic and undergo paralysis
Shoot the messenger
© Taylor and Francis 2015
Control the Agenda
Once you’ve decided what you want to say and to whom, the rules for doing so are the following
Tell it all
Tell it fast
Tell ’em what you’re doing about it
Tell ’em when it’s over
Get back to work
© Taylor and Francis 2015
Dealing with Rumors
Rumors, uncertainty, and relief of emotional distress
The morphing of rumors: how they change over time
Preventing rumors
Controlling rumors: a mathematical formula
Dynamics of the news cycle in controlling a rumor
© Taylor and Francis 2015
Allport and Postman Model of Rumor Dynamics
R ~ i x a, where:
R is the rumor: its reach, intensity, duration, and the degree that people will rely upon it
i is the importance of the rumor to the hearer or reader, if true
a is the level of ambiguity or uncertainty surrounding the rumor
© Taylor and Francis 2015
The Rule of 45 Minutes, 6 Hours, 3 Days, and 2 Weeks…
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Best Practices in Crisis
Know when to suspend business as usual
Get pre-authorization to use judgment quickly when dealing with incoming media inquiries
Keep in mind the Golden Hour of crisis response: incremental delays cause greater-than-incremental harm to reputation
Control the agenda: don’t let the media, adversaries, or the rumor mill define your situation
© Taylor and Francis 2015
Best Practices in Crisis , cont’d
Develop messages and plan tactics with a goal in mind: how do you want your key stakeholders to think and feel, and what do you want them to know and do?
Be attentive to rumors, and work to eliminate them as quickly as possible. Follow the formula for diminishing or eliminating rumors: R ~ i x a
Note that there are particular points in the cycle of bad news where you can take control of your destiny