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Lesson 3: Test Your Crisis Communications Plan

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By Gerard Braud

IMG_2621There are many articles throughout this blog about what makes for a good crisis communications plan. I believe so many documents that proport to be crisis communications plans fall far short of what is needed to effectively communicate when “it” hits the fan.

A great way to find out if your crisis communications plan is up to par is to test it with a crisis communications drill.

During a crisis, anxiety is high, tensions run high, and pressures can be enormous. During times like this, it is easy for important things to fall through the cracks. However, if you write them all down on a clear sunny day and organize them in sequential order, then you have the foundation for a good crisis communications plan. Furthermore, if you can easily read them during your crisis and follow the pre-ordained steps, you are able to achieve effective communication.

I don’t know of anyone else who tells you to read your crisis communications plan during the crisis.  That may be because most crisis communications plans only list the rule of standard operating procedures.  Most plans fail to be organized chronologically with clear directions that you can read and follow during your crisis. My prescription is to have a plan written with clear directions and follow it every step of the way throughout your crisis communications drill.

This important step accomplishes several goals. First, you get in the habit of carrying your communication plan with you. Secondly, you learn to trust your plan and trust that in your worst times it will guide you toward a brighter conclusion. Thirdly, if there is a flaw in your plan, your crisis communications drill will expose that flaw, allowing you to make important rewrites.

youtubeKeep in mind also that the tools of communication change constantly. This means your crisis communications plan needs to be a living document. What worked during last year’s drill may need to be revised this year because the tools of communication have changed. Just look at how in recent years, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube went from being non-existent to being available but irrelevant, to being a vital consideration and important communications tool in a crisis.

A crisis communications drill is designed to let you screw up in private on a clear, sunny day, so you don’t screw up in public on your darkest day. The same is true for your plan. Discover any flaws on a sunny day and fix them before your darkest day comes.

 

Lesson 2: “This is a Drill”

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By Gerard Braud

Media_Relations_CamerasRule number one during a crisis communications drill is to never have anyone accidentally think a real crisis is happening, when it is not. Hence, in all written communications and on every phone conversation and radio conversation, you must generously use the phrase, “This is a Drill.”

For phone calls, the first words out of your mouth when the other party says, “Hello,” should be, “This is a Drill.” When the other party hears these words from you, they should reply, “This is a Drill.”

These basic rules need to be covered by your drill facilitator before and during the drill.

Likewise, when your phone call is concluded, your last words should be, “This is a Drill.” At that time the other party should reply, “This is a Drill.”

The reason this is important is because you never want someone to overhear details that sound like a crisis and think there really is a crisis, which might trigger panic, rumors, or other unintended consequences.

If two-way radios are a part of your drill, the same protocol should also be followed.

If e-mails are used during the drill, the phrase, “This is a Drill,” should be used in the subject line. It should then open and close the message within the e-mail. If Word Documents, PDFs or printed documents are used during the drill, each one should have a bold message at the beginning and end of the text that says, “This is a Drill.” Also, create a 50% watermark on an angle within these documents that says, “This is a Drill.”

In addition to avoiding unintended consequences internally, this phrase is important so that agencies such as police, the fire department, or the media don’t somehow hear a radio transmission and respond.

As a courtesy, you may wish to call your local police and fire dispatcher to inform them that a drill is underway. Generally, I do not tell the media a drill is happening because I don’t want the media to attempt to create a news story about my drill, because I don’t want to enlighten the media about some ugly events that might actually be a possibility.

Braud Crisis Plans_6113Sometimes when a drill involves a school or airport, and it is conducted in conjunction with police and fire departments, the agencies turn it into a news event designed to be a media event that shows their preparedness. I’m not a fan of this, because when things go wrong in a drill, I don’t want the organization’s unpreparedness to become part of a news story.

Remember, the goal of a drill is to create an opportunity for organizations to practice how to do things right, with that ability to allow people to screw up in private so they don’t screw up in public during an actual event.

“This is a Drill.” This is not a publicity event.

In our next article we will discuss some of the goals and objectives of your drill, so you will have a clear idea of how to measure success.

Lesson 1: Why Have a Crisis Communications Drill?

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By Gerard Braud 

Entergy Drill Gerard braudWould you rather screw up in public or screw up in private? That’s really what a crisis communications drill is all about. On a clear sunny day you have the ability to practice for how you will respond and behave on your darkest day.

A crisis communications drill is designed to allow you to test your crisis communications plan and your crisis communications team.  It tests how you co-exist and interact with your incident command plan, your risk management plan, and crisis management team.

In this series of articles, you will learn some of the sneaky things I like to do when I facilitate a crisis communications drill for my clients. Hopefully you will be inspired to be as sneaky in the drills you conduct.

The concept of messing up in private is foreign to many organizations. Often the people who lead companies think they can magically wing it on the day of the crisis.  They think their public relations and communication team will magically make a crisis go away with a few news releases written in the heat of the moment.

Denial among leaders and an unwillingness to invest time and money to prepare for a crisis is frustrating to many in public relations. It is frustrating to me on a daily basis as I observe the same mistakes made in a crises and news events.

Yet, many PR people have discovered, as I have, that one crisis communications drill each year can produce amazing results.

A hard hitting, anxiety filled, realistic drill puts the fear of God into executives. They get a healthy dose of reality. If the reality check shows their weakness, they are more willing to help you budget time and money for important crisis communications tools and training. They may provide funding for a properly written crisis communication plan, budget for annual media training, and for an annual crisis communications drill.

Let’s face it – the annual holiday party will cost much more than all three of these.

Tomorrow, we’ll examine the most important words you can say during a drill.

Washington Navy Yard Shooting: How the Daily Show Portrayed the Media’s Coverage

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By Gerard Braud

Daily Show Jon Stewart Gerard BraudWithin the office here, I ranted at the media relentlessly about the horrible live coverage of the tragic events unfolding at the Washington Navy Yard. Only my assistant Shannon had to hear my rants.

Fortunately, comedian Jon Stewart has the resource and video tape evidence to call out the media for the idiotic way they covered this event. Here is the  link to the show, and believe me it is worth watching every minute of it.

On a daily basis I beg corporations and government agencies to write a proper crisis communications plan, which has features that allow spokespeople to give small amounts of information at regular intervals. It starts with the First Critical Statement, which I’ll give you below. This is a psychological feature of the plans I write because it wards off the stupidity, rumors, speculation and unprofessionalism displayed on Monday, especially by CNN, but by many local stations as well.

Your assignments for the day:

1) Watch this daily show clip.

2) Call me for a free chat about your crisis communications plan and whether it is perfect or if it could use some improvement. My number is 985-624-9976.

3) Download copy of my First Critical Statement with this link.

To download it for free, enter the coupon code CRISISCOMPLAN

An e-mail will be sent instantly. Make sure it doesn’t go to your spam filter by authorizing my e-mail address gerard@braudcommunications.com.

 

 

 

PRSA Workshop Resources

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As a PRSA member, here are some additional resources and links to supplement our program on social media, crisis communications, and secrets to effective communications when “it” hits the fan.

DSC_00761) A copy of my First Critical Statement can be downloaded with this link.

To download it for free, enter the coupon code CRISISCOMPLAN

An e-mail will be sent instantly. Make sure it doesn’t go to your spam filter by authorizing my e-mail address gerard@braudcommunications.com

2) I think video is an amazing way to achieve effective communications during a crisis. It should be a vital part of your social media strategy and it can be an amazing way to get your message directly to the media. Training is critical to getting it right. This link takes you to a tutorial that teaches you everything I do when I’m creating iReports for CNN. The same strategy works on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.

3) A crisis communications drill is vital to good performance during your crisis. This article outlines the elements of a good drill.

4) Speed is critical in a crisis. This article outlines missed opportunities to communicate quickly during a shooting.

5) Sometimes a crisis is the result of problems on social media. This article outlines how

Burger King failed to practice good crisis communications when their Facebook page was hacked.

 

 

 

Social Media When “It” Hits the Fan

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By Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC

Twitter over capacityThere is so much to hate about social media. Yet there are so many new avenues of communications available to you during a crisis, that it becomes hard to hate social media. On the other hand, during a crisis social media can blow up with excessive criticism and hate. Add to that, the fact that your older executives may freak out when they read all of the negative hate speech, and then you have a real problem on your PR hands. However, it is impossible to overlook the power of circumventing the media in certain crises when you can’t get news coverage, by taking your message straight to your audience on social media. Also, it is gratifying to get positive feedback from people who were hungry for information and found solace knowing you provided them vital information right there on social media.

…whew!!

Are you as tired of this merry-go round as I am? Sorting it all out is nothing short of exhausting.

So what do you think? Does shiny and new beat tried and true? In other words, does shiny new social media serve you better than the traditional approach to crisis communications? The traditional approach I’m talking about mixes good media relations, with good employee relations and a perfect crisis communications plan.

What happens if you combine all of the new social media, the latest technology, great media relations and great crisis communications all at the same time? I have done it while in seven feet of floodwaters with no electricity for five days. I ended up on live television with CNN and the Weather Channel, broadcasting my story from the heart of a hurricane where even their own news crews couldn’t go. Would you like to learn the secrets of doing that?

InstagramSome of those secrets are in this article in Tactics

To help you sort it all out, you are invited to join me in Washington, D.C. on September 24th where we will explore the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to social media for crisis communications. Here is how to register with PRSA.

Do not come if you are expecting suggestions for one magic solution that works for every organization. There is no such thing.

Here is a sample of what you will hear.

Come prepared for a tailored solution. Come prepared to discover the right fit for your organization and not the force fit that legions of social media consultants have tried to cram down your throat.

You will explore not only the good and bad side of social media, but you will also discern which elements of a good crisis communications plan, good media relations, and good employee communications are vital.

You will see case studies of companies that have used social media brilliantly in a crisis as well as companies that have spent millions on social media only to find that no one really wanted to participate in their social media conversation.

Also on our agenda is a healthy list of actions you should take on a clear sunny day, in order to be prepared for your darkest day. You will discover that the core elements of a strong crisis communications plan can lay the foundation for every action you take during a crisis. You will be relieved to learn that most of the decisions you will make during your crisis and most of the statements you need to write and issue during a crisis can all be prepared months and years in advance.

Don’t forget speed. Fast communications is the secret spice of all effective crisis communications.facebook-like-button

One final thought if you sign up to join us: Clear your calendar for when you get back to the office because you will leave with a significant list of action items that you will want to work on as soon as you get home.

7 Things Your Crisis Communications Drill Should Test

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By Gerard Braud

Entergy drill Gerard Braud 1A clear sunny day is the best time to deal with your crisis. Your darkest day is the worst time to deal with a crisis. Let me explain…

A Crisis Communications Drill can simulate realistic emotions and pressures in a controlled environment, where you can mess up in private, rather than messing up during a real crisis.

Your goal in every Crisis Communications Drill should be to test multiple aspects of the organization. These are the seven most important things I test in the drills for my clients:

1) Is there a properly written Crisis Communications Plan that is so thorough that it can be read during the drill, word-for-word, in real time? Does it ultimately result in flawless performance by the Crisis Communications Team?

2) Did that Crisis Communications Plan allow the organization to begin issuing news releases, postings to the web and e-mails to employees within one hour or less of the onset of the crisis?

3) Did executives within the organization slow down the communications process by excessively word-smithing news releases?

4) Did the Crisis Communications Plan have pre-written news releases that were pre-approved on a clear sunny day by the executive team, so they could be released quickly without re-writes?

5) Are their multiple spokespeople who are qualified to stand before my mock media and survive their questioning?

6) Did misguided egotists step out of their assigned rolls and try to take over other people’s jobs? Did they withhold information that kept others from properly doing their jobs, thereby compromising the organization and in its crisis response?

7) Did the drill create enough realistic drama and anxiety, to add a level of fear into all participating teams? Did it help them realize drills and media training must be treated like an athlete treats their sport? Did it help them understand that regular practice on a clear sunny day makes you your best on your worst day.

This Friday the 13th (September 13, 2013) you will get an inside peak to the secret techniques I use with my clients as I take them through the rigors of a crisis communications drill.

Entergy Drill Gerard braudYou will learn:

• How to weave social media into your drill

• Details about who should be involved

• Secrets to a realistic scenario

• Benefits to testing your spokespeople

• Ways to test your team and your Crisis Communications Plan

• Best options for getting future drills in your budget

 

Here are the sign up details and here is a companion article as a preview:

The Perfect Crisis Communications Drill

Friday, September 13, 2013

EDT     Noon

CDT     11 a.m.

MDT    10 a.m.

PDT     9 a.m.

Registration here $99

Free to those who use my Crisis Communications Plan with the Living License.

 

 

3 Things You NEED to Finish Before the End of the Year

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Yearly Budget - Gerard Braud Crisis Communications expertBy Gerard Braud

The pretty stuff always gets more attention than the ugly stuff. Preparing for media interviews and crisis communications is not as sexy as a newsletter or brochure. But when “it” hits the fan, will your customers, employees, and the media be remembering your great graphics? Or will they form their opinion of your company based on dumb things said by a spokesperson or horrific images of your crisis?

Media training, a properly written crisis communications plan, and a well-planned and executed crisis communications drill should be on your list of tasks to be completed before the end of this year.

Excuses are easy to come by for why these three things won’t get done before the end of the year. “It’s not in our budget” is the most common. Here’s a secret: Never take a “No” earlier in the year as a “No” at the end of the year. As sales, revenues, and the economy get better, most companies are seeing training budgets improve. Ask again. You may get a firm yes for this year. Remember: your company will spend far more on a holiday party than they will on any or all of these three tasks.

The second most popular excuse is, “We can’t get on everyone’s calendar.” Here’s a secret: Ask everyone involved if they have time on their calendar to play in a charity golf game. You will be amazed at how many people suddenly have an open day.

Now for the nitty-gritty and why you should do media training, a crisis communications plan, and a crisis communications drill before the end of the year.

In no particular order I’ll say this about each:

A crisis communications drill is the absolute best way to test everyone in your organization to see exactly how well (or how poorly) they will perform in a crisis. You get to test your crisis communications plan (if you have one), and your spokespeople. You will discover who on your leadership team has true leadership skills when “it” hits the fan and who will create constant roadblocks and impediments to success in both the drill and a real event.

Media training should be treated like a sport, with the understanding that regular practice is the key to being good. Every potential spokesperson should go through a rigorous initial media training class, then each year after that go through a refresher course. Too many executives think of media training as a bucket list item, which they only have to do once in their lives. Anyone who believes that may actually die at the podium when you need them the most. By the way, a crisis communications drill is a great time to realistically test your spokespeople. During and following a drill, many potential spokespeople realize that they are perhaps not as prepared as they should be. A little humility in a drill goes a long way toward instilling in people the concept of an annual media training refresher course.

Crisis communications plans have never been more of a necessity than they are now, in large part because of how a crisis now plays out in social media. Any crisis communications plan must equip you to communicate quickly through multiple means, including news conferences, web postings, emails to employees, and updates on social media. Yet many crisis communications plans really cannot help you achieve these goals because they were written with flaws from the beginning and because they haven’t been updated.

The biggest flaw with most plans is that they state only standard operating procedures. If your plan is only 6-20 pages long, chances are you need a major overhaul.  I’m standing by to get the right plan in your hands through an intense two-day writing workshop that delivers to you a plan that is so thorough that nothing is forgotten, yet so simple to execute that anyone who can read execute it flawlessly. The plan is also ultra fast to use, because it contains a huge library of pre-written news releases that can be approved by your leadership on a clear sunny day, preventing time consuming delays on your darkest day.

If you are wondering if your plan is up to the task, you can always call me for a free review of your plan.

Ultimately, all three of these end-of-the-year tasks allow you to test your people and your plans on a clear sunny day, so you can perform your best on your darkest day.

 

 

23 Tutorials on How to Effectively Use Social Media When the Next Katrina Hits

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Today marks two years since Hurricane Isaac and ten years since Hurricane Katrina.

Isaac Flooding Gerard BraudIn that short time between these two hurricanes, media relations and crisis communications has been affected by social media and technology.

Are you ready to effectively communicate in your next big natural disaster, be it a tornado, snow storm, forest fire or hurricane?

Today we share tips on how to weather your storm with effective crisis communications, based on my coverage of Hurricane Isaac last year.

With seven feet of water in my yard, white caps rolling down my driveway, thousands of snakes, four 10-foot alligators and no electricity, I was able to broadcast live to CNN and The Weather Channel.

This series of 23 tutorials tells you how I did it and how you can do it too. Enjoy!

To view more videos on my hurricane coverage click here.

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Click here to read Lesson #1 Why Be An iReporter 

 

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Click here to read Lesson #2 Game Changers in Crisis Communication and iReporting

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Click here to read Lesson #3 Set Up Your IReporter Account 

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Click here to read Lesson #4 What is News?

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Click here to watch Lesson #5 Hurricane Isaac: iReports Before, During and After. Is This Guy Crazy?

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Click here to read Lesson #6 Get the Right Tools to be a CNN iReporter

 

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Click here to read Lesson #7 How a Guy in Mandeville, Louisiana Became a Source of Breaking News 

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Click here to read Lesson #8 How and Why to tell a Compare and Contrast Story 

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Click Here to Read Lesson #9 What to Say in Your iReport

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Click here to read Lesson #10 Manage the Expectations of Your Audience

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Click here to read Lesson #11 Where You Should Look When Using an iPad or Iphone for an iReport

Tutorial 12 Still Gerard Braud

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Click here to read Lesson #12 Good Lighting for Your iReport

Tutorial 13 Still Gerard Braud

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Click here to read Lesson #13 How to Manage Your Audio

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Click here to read Lesson #14 How to Properly Frame Your Video 

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Click here to read Lesson #15 When to use earbuds and headsets

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Click here to read Lesson #16 How and Why to Plan Movement in Your iReport

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Click here to read Lesson #17 The Secrets to Using Skype for a Live CNN Interview 

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Click here to read Lesson #18 Secrets to a Professional Reporter Style “Standup” While Holding Your IPhone at Arm’s Length 

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Click here to read Lesson #19 How to Shoot Great B-Roll  

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Click here to read Lesson #20 Learn Why Crap is King When it Comes to TV 

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Click here to read Lesson #21 Get Great New iReporter Gadgets 

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Click here to read Lesson #22 Keep it Short

 

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Click here to read Lesson #23 Final Thoughts on How You Can be an Award Winning iReporter

Crisis Communications for Schools Part 2: Defining a Crisis and a Crisis Plan

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By Gerard Braud

For the purpose of our discussion in these articles, we will define a crisis this way:

StudentsGerardBraudA crisis is any incident that may seriously affect the safety, function, operation, reputation and/or revenue of any organization, public or private.

We will not debate or parse words as to whether what is called a crisis in this article might otherwise be called a situation, incident, event or any other synonym. Furthermore, we will divide our crises into two types: sudden crises and smoldering crises. A sudden crisis has a sudden flash point, such as a school shooting, tornado, fire, or explosion. A smoldering crisis might involve a labor dispute, issues of discrimination, and incidents of executive misbehavior such as embezzlement or sexual misconduct. In a smoldering crisis, details are known to internal decision makers, but not yet known to the public.

In our last article, we introduced you to the concept of the text messaging notification system and the crisis communications plan. While a text message notification system is intended for use in only a sudden crisis, the crisis communications plan can be used to communicate vital information for both a smoldering and a sudden crisis.

Confusion in “Crisis Plans” – Defining a Crisis Communications Plan

A great flaw in schools, in corporations, and in the world of emergency response is the generic use of the term “crisis plan” and crisis team. A crisis plan is not the same as a crisis communications plan. Each school and school system must operate with a collection of three unique plans that are executed by three unique teams, with each team being composed of individuals with specific skills and areas of expertise. Although the plans each serve a unique purpose, they are also designed to be executed in unison without any plan overriding or contradicting the directives of another.

The three types of plans needed are:

1) An Incident Command Plan, which is sometimes called the Emergency Response Plan, Coordinates police, fire and rescue. It is executed by the Incident Command Team.

2) A Risk Management Plan, which is sometimes called a Business Continuity Plan, ensures the components of the business operations are restored following a crisis, including identifying alternate facilities and supply chains. The Risk Management Plan is executed by the Risk Manager.

3) A Crisis Communications Plan, dictates prescribed measures for communicating accurate and timely information to key audiences, including parents, students, employees, the media and other stakeholders. It includes the components of public relations, media relations and stakeholder relations, and is executed by the Crisis Communications Team.

TulaneGerardBraudAll plans and all actions during a crisis should be managed by the Crisis Management Team.

Further confusion takes place in this area when the incident command plan makes reference to crisis communications. Usually this refers to details about radio systems and other technology used for interactive communications among emergency responders. This confusion must be avoided. We must emphasize that in this document, crisis communications is a function of public relations, media relations, employee relations, and social media management.

A sudden crisis, such as a school shooting or tornado would trigger all three plans. But a smoldering crisis such as an accusation of sexual harassment, would trigger the use of only the crisis communications plan, without causing a need to use the incident command plan or the risk management plan.

Your assignment for this article is to have a discussion with the leaders in your organization to identify the types of plans you have. If you think you have a crisis communications plan, I will be giving you come criteria in future articles by which you can determine if your plan is written properly.

You can also email a copy of your plan to me at gerard@braudcommunications.com and I will be happy to give you 15 minutes of free feedback.