Two years into my first crisis communications job, I felt salty. I had my “trial by fire” case in the first month, and came out of it unscathed. I had been interviewed by reporters hundreds of times for dozens of emergencies. Given the facts of a case, I could whip out a serviceable, well-constructed news […]
Tag Archives: Lesson Learned
In·for·ma·tion /infərˈmāSHən/ noun: knowledge that you get about someone or something; the communication or receiving of knowledge or intelligence. Fact /fakt/ noun: something that actually exists; reality; a truth verifiable from experience or observation. A common thread running through our profession is that the simplest of concepts are often overlooked or taken for granted. That’s bad news for organizations responding to emergencies and crises, (but good […]
If you’re a crisis communicator, you routinely have bad news to give people who are affected by the latest disaster. In the midst of responding to crisis, your job is to build and/or maintain people’s trust and credibility in you and your organization’s abilities. Being transparent with bad news – while telling people what you’re […]
tl;dr – If there’s a possibility that something your organization is about to do will lead to perceived risks from stakeholders outside the organization, you need to have a risk communication and outreach plan in place before going forward with your operational plan. Americans used the phrase “the new normalcy” to describe how things had […]
It was projected to hit somewhere between Gulf Shores, Ala. and Houston – a stretch of about 500 miles. We wanted to be as close to the impact as possible before landfall, or it would be too late to do any good. Three teams were positioned at three locations throughout the Gulf region. My team set […]
The Crisis Communicator 