Rules of engagement and practice in dealing with the media in a crisis. Crisis planning is now a routine part of corporate life, we work with your crisis planning officer to develop realistic scenarios and responses for senior spokespeople.
Crisis communications courses are always bespoke, with scenarios crafted to cover realistic and pertinent areas for the business. The areas typical covered include:
- Ambush interviews, how to deal with being door-stepped by a journalist when you have little idea of the basic fact
- Making a holding statement.
- When and how to offer sympathy and condolences if appropriate
- Rules for delivering apologies
- How to decide what can and can’t be said
- Crafting the messages
- How to deliver messages with confidence
- Anticipating questions
- How to answer if you don’t know
- Using messages while being questioned
- Controlling body language
This is an intensive and challenging workshop-style course with all the learning points built into a scenario. It includes presentations and real-life examples but is built around participants making decisions, crafting messages and being interviewed. It includes direct feedback on communication styles.
“Lindsay Williams of The Media Coach presented to 50 attendees of the HP (Hewlett-Packard) Business Continuity User Group on the subject of Crisis Communications. This was followed by her conducting two well thought out, scenario-based, media exercises with the attendees split into 8 teams. With each team then selecting an untrained media spokesperson, the session culminated in simulated crisis communication interviews to camera for each team’s chosen spokesperson. Finally, the whole audience was able to learn from, and enjoy, playback from the interviews to give them a real appreciation of the important and sometimes difficult role of presenting to the media in a Crisis situation.
This workshop was an excellent session for HP’s customers, specialising in Business Continuity Management, which was reflected in the superb feedback received from them on the day’s event. This was, without doubt, one of the best and most thought-provoking sessions that the User Group has been involved in”.
Business Continuity Consulting Manager (EMEA) Hewlett-Packard
