Remembering the Rules in a Crisis
The first rule in a crisis is this: Facilitate information in a quick, accurate, and timely manner. How quickly you communicate the facts to the victims, press, investors, shareholders, and other audiences determines, in large part, how you emerge from the situation. The faster you move, the better the message is received. The longer the public guesses the worse off the company.
Here are some other critical rules for acting in a PR crisis:
- Always tell the truth. Do not be misleading or dishonest.
- Be prepared. Have a communications plan in place before disaster strikes. Don’t wait until it happens to start thinking, “What do we do?”
- Act as though you care. Demonstrate compassion.
- Move quickly. Don’t stand there stunned.
- Make fast decisions and swift adjustments. If you’re faced with having to spend money to clean up the situation, do it now (while it seems as though it’s your choice) instead of later (when it seems as though you’re acting only because of pressure).
- Never say, “No comment.” If you don’t have an answer, say so and then get it.
- Return all calls from the press promptly. Every day you do not respond to an accusation, the bad press the situation generates gets exponentially worse.
- Don’t avoid the press. Actively seek opportunities to get in front of the cameras and tell your story.
- Admit when you messed up, apologize, explain how you’re going to fix it, and then do what you promised.
- Always carry a checklist of important contacts’ phone numbers.
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