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Ch3CrisisCommunicationWeek210LessonsonEffectiveCrisisComm.pptxEffective Crisis Communication
Chapter 3 Lessons on Effective Crisis Communication
Ulmer, R., Sellnow, T., and Seeger, M. (2019). Effective crisis communication: Moving from crisis to opportunity. Sage Publications. Thousand Oaks, CA.
Lesson 1 Determining your Goals
Often broad statements that help guide
Could be to reduce the impact of the crisis
Keep the organization’s image intact or maintain customers
Helps reduce uncertainty during crises
Linking to organizational values helps harmonize
Important to determine, rank, and identify potential obstacles to goals.
Lesson 2 Develop True, Equal Partnerships with Organizations and Groups that are important…
Partnerships defined “Equal communication relationships with groups or organizations that have an impact on an organization”
Established through honest and open dialogue
Partners may be advocates for or antagonists against
Effective partnering begins before crisis occurs.
Establish relationships with stakeholders before!
Lesson 3 Acknowledge your stakeholders as partners when managing crises
Stakeholders are external and internal groups that can have an impact.
Effective strategies include making a list of potential stakeholders.
Employees
Competitors
Creditors
Consumers
Government Agencies
Community
Activist Groups
Media
Lesson 4 Develop Strong, Positive Relationships with Primary and Secondary Stakeholders
Primary – Those most important to success and interact with most often.
Secondary – Key groups that do not play an active role but are still important to success.
Types
Positive – Both listen, understand, and communicate with each other
Negative – Antagonistic relationship, not open to listening or communicating
Ambivalent – No true partnership, each work with each other, but no one listens
Nonexistent – Organization is not aware of stakeholder and does not communicate
Lesson 4 Develop Strong, Positive Relationships with Primary and Secondary Stakeholders
Communicating with underrepresented groups
Culture-Neutral Approach: Everyone acts on and accesses CC information in similar manners.
Problem - Not everyone had a car to evacuate Hurricane Katrina
Culturally-Sensitive Approach: Messages should be tailored to the cultural characteristics of groups.
Person, Place, Time, Occasion, Literacy Level, and Message to name a few
Culturally-Centered Approach: Most appropriate – Includes underrepresented groups in the process.
Means partnerships must happen.
Lesson 5 Effective CC means listening to stakeholders
First mistake is to attempt to engineer consent through spin.
Get the information out, but then make time to listen to concerns.
Public Information Sessions
Q&A
Public meetings can become difficult.
Vocalized anger must be acknowledged and legitimized.
Once you have listened, then determine which audiences to focus on and how to address their concerns.
Lesson 6 Communicate early, Acknowledge uncertainty, Assure the public you will keep communicating
Communicate Early and Often
Be first and get out in front.
Social media has made this easier.
Don’t be perceived as stonewalling.
Identify the Causes of the Crisis
Decreases uncertainty.
Causes may be unknown.
In big crises media and negative stakeholders may speculate and blame.
Contact all affected with compassion, concern, and empathy.
Determine Current and Future Risks
Lesson 7 Avoid Absolutes or Language of Certainty
Provide clear and consistent messaging as early as possible
If you speak to quickly and with too much certainty you may have to retract.
Initial statements may need appropriate and honest ambiguity.
In the beginning, the facts often aren’t clear.
“We don’t know at this point…”
“but this is what we are doing at this point…”
“this is when we expect to know”
Lesson 8 Do not OVERreassure stakeholders about risks and impact
The common misconception is that people will panic.
If the public believe they are being misled, they will lose faith.
The perception of threat will rise.
“The condition most conducive to panic isn’t bad news; it is conflicting messages from those in authority” (p. 41).
Lesson 9 The public needs practical, useful information to protect themselves
The public looks for information to help protect themselves.
CC should give minimum, medium, and maximum responses for self-protection.
Messages should be accurate, useful, and instructive.
Your text still recommends avoiding absolutes.
Lesson 10 Effective CC acknowledge that positive factors can arise from organizational crises
When orgs consider the positive, they are better able to move beyond the event.
Too often orgs attempt to alleviate responsibility or shift blame.
Also frame crises as tragedies for the org and its members.
7 potential positives
Heroes are born.
Change is accelerated.
Latent problems are faced.
People are changed.
New strategies evolve.
Early warning systems develop.
New competitive advantages appear.
