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The Biggest Lie in Crisis Communications

 

Crisis communications Plans Gerard BraudBy Gerard Braud

Regarding crisis communications and crisis communications plans, does this adage apply?

“The person who says something can’t be done is always right.”

In so many crises, public relations professionals and the media proclaim phrases such as, “This is unprecedented. You can’t prepare for this.”

Pardon me, but that’s bull$h*t.

As a defiant, non-conformist, contrarian, nothing inspires me to do something more than doing something they said couldn’t be done.

If you want to prepare and you are willing to put forth the effort, you can write a crisis communications plan and a library of pre-written news releases that will serve you in any crisis. Public relations people without the expertise, who are unwilling to put forth the effort, take the easy way out by saying, “It can’t be done.”

Here is the backstory of how defiance turned into a process that allowed public relations teams to put an effective crisis communications plan in place in as few as two days.

In 1996, I begin doing extensive research on crisis communications plans and found each plan repeated the same flaws as the ones before it. All conformed to public relations standards of then and today. Being a contrarian, I researched the common communications mistakes made in each crisis. I poured over case studies from when I was a member of the media. I analyzed why spokespeople said dumb things to me in most crises when I was a television reporter. I analyzed why corporations were slow to communicate about each crisis.

Crisis Communication movie gerard braudThe pain, problems, and predicaments of the communicator and the corporation were scrutinized. Once this was done, I began to work backwards, with the end in mind. Multiple end points were identified, which consisted of the intervals at which a statement would need to be made by a company to the media, a company’s employees, and the stakeholders most affected by the crisis.

From 1996 – 2004, I wrote crisis communications plans for a wide variety of businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. The process often took a year of collaboration, which for me was too long. Dealing with the slow pace of corporate collaboration didn’t fit my personality.

In 2004, while recovering from a near-death-illness, I began looking for the fastest way to deliver a crisis communications plan. I had so many plans written that I was able to condense the crisis communications plan writing process down to two intense days of a group writing retreat. I provided the expertise and base documents, while the public relations team provided a workforce to modify the documents.

Ten years later, the plan still works in every crisis. Granted, the base crisis communications plan is a living document that undergoes constant modification to incorporate the ever-growing list of communications outlets, such as social media.

The reality is, you don’t know how every crisis will unfold.

The secret is to understand the intervals at which you must communicate to key audiences. You must make sure your crisis communications plan has a system in place to gather information, confirm information, then release that information.

The biggest breakthrough for me was unlocking the secret to creating a library of pre-written news releases. Starting with the end in mind, I was able to analyze the questions that get asked in every news conference by the media. Based on those questions and a clear understanding of how journalists will write their news reports, I was able to create a series of statements that include multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank options.

Some of my pre-written news releases have as few as five paragraphs while others have more than 30 paragraphs. Some pre-written news releases are for an event that can be handled with a single press release. Others are three-part releases that can be used to issue advisories before, during, and after an event, such as for an electric company dealing with a winter storm. Still others must exceed three parts, to use during ongoing crises. These pre-written news releases can usually be edited and released in as few as ten minutes. This is in stark contrast to the typical problem of a public relations person sitting before a blank computer screen and writing from scratch, then facing hours of revisions and hours of delayed communications.

What are the constant realities for the company you work for? Virtually every set of scenarios can be broken down into fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice options.

A crisis communications plan can be structured to identify your key audiences, the various ways you must communicate to those audiences, and the frequency of your communications.

Is writing this type of crisis communications plan easy? My original plan took about 1,000 hours to develop – that’s six months. Since then, it has evolved with many more hours.

Today, it is ready to launch and implement in as few as two days. If you would like to know more, call me.

If you think it can’t be done, you are correct for yourself. You are not, however, correct for everyone.

 

Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC (Jared Bro) is an international expert, coach, trainer, author and professional speaker, who has worked with organizations on five continents. Known as the guy to call when it hits the fan, he is widely regarded as an expert in crisis communications and media issues.

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Crisis Communications Tips on: The Best Piece of Advice on Writing News Releases


In order to engage and interact with corporate communications professionals, and share best practices with our online public relations community, this week’s crisis communications discussion question was, “What’s the best piece of advice you were ever given for writing a news release?” What is that one tip that someone once shared with you that you remember each time you write a news release?

Our social media followers and crisis communications influencers shared their thoughts this week on LinkedIn, the blog, Twitter, and YouTube. Many commented on what is actually considered news and how real news should be the focus of a news release. Some commented on the importance of incorporating great media interview quotes into the news release. What would you add to the conversation? Comment here and on our social media pages to join the discussion.

This question is one of a series of debates in the media relations, crisis communications, public relations, and social media industries where you and your colleagues can share observations with each other. Yes, YOU are invited to share your bite-size bits of best practices. Here is how:

Step 1: Subscribe to The BraudCast on YouTube

Step 2: You will see a short video that poses a new question every Monday. You then post your best practices and observations on The BraudCast YouTube channel.

Step 3: Once your opinion is shared, you can follow the discussion online so you can compare your best practices to those of your professional colleagues.

Step 4: Watch the follow-up Friday Video where you will see a short YouTube video outlining some of the most interesting observations. Yes…your comments may actually show up on our BraudCast video, bringing you world-wide fame, fortune, a big raise, glory, street parades, and more.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge. Please take 2 seconds now to subscribe to The BraudCast.

What’s the Best Piece of Crisis Communication Advice You Were Ever Given?

Crisis communications skills are often studied as a “niche” within the public relations industry. Maybe you have been educated before on crisis communication, attending presentations, sitting in classrooms, joining professional PR associations like PRSA or PRSSA, hearing from advisors, professors, instructors, and professional speakers. Maybe you have heard some expert crisis management tips from your colleagues, or an influential boss. Maybe you have had some expert crisis communications or media relations consultants help you strategize your crisis plan for your company, school, hospital, or organization.

To inspire discussion, crisis communications expert Gerard Braud asks his social media followers, public relations professionals, and media relations experts, “What’s the best piece of crisis communications advice you were ever given?”

Whatever your resources may be, we want you to comment here and on our social media pages to share your answers. You and your colleagues can benefit from this online discussion.Your answers may be featured in our follow-up video!

This question is one of a series of debates in the media relations, crisis communications, public relations, and social media industries where you and your colleagues can share observations with each other. Yes, YOU are invited to share your bite-size bits of best practices. Here is how:

Step 1: Subscribe to The BraudCast on YouTube

Step 2: You will see a short video that poses a new question every Monday. You then post your best practices and observations on The BraudCast YouTube channel.

Step 3: Once your opinion is shared, you can follow the discussion online so you can compare your best practices to those of your professional colleagues.

Step 4: Watch the follow-up Friday Video where you will see a short YouTube video outlining some of the most interesting observations. Yes…your comments may actually show up on our BraudCast video, bringing you world-wide fame, fortune, a big raise, glory, street parades, and more.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge. Please take 2 seconds now to subscribe to The BraudCast.

PR Tips on: Which is more important in a media interview – emotion or details?

It is crucial for your business, company, school, or organization to have effective media relations, effective media interviews, and to express the right emotions at the right times to your audience members. It is also important for you to tell the story of your crisis to your audience and include necessary information, rather than allowing reporters to tell your story and potentially speculate. Should your CEO, public relations professional, or spokesperson be more focused on expressing those emotions, or should they be more focused on delivering the news, the facts, and the details of your crisis? On Monday, crisis communications expert Gerard Braud asked his social media followers, public relations professionals, and media relations experts, “Which is more important in a media interview – emotion or details?”

Our followers have joined in on the discussion this week, sharing their tips on social media. Comment here and on our social media pages to join the discussion. Do you agree with their opinion? Do you disagree?

This question is one of a series of debates in the media relations, crisis communications, public relations, and social media industries where you and your colleagues can share observations with each other. Yes, YOU are invited to share your bite-size bits of best practices. Here is how:

Step 1: Subscribe to The BraudCast on YouTube

Step 2: You will see a short video that poses a new question every Monday. You then post your best practices and observations on The BraudCast YouTube channel.

Step 3: Once your opinion is shared, you can follow the discussion online so you can compare your best practices to those of your professional colleagues.

Step 4: Watch the follow-up Friday Video where you will see a short YouTube video outlining some of the most interesting observations. Yes…your comments may actually show up on our BraudCast video, bringing you world-wide fame, fortune, a big raise, glory, street parades, and more.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge. Please take 2 seconds now to subscribe to The BraudCast.

Crisis Communications Discussion Question: What should your first words be in a media interview?

It can be challenging and nerve-racking to start off a media interview. Should you introduce yourself if the interviewer doesn’t? Should you greet your audiences or the interviewer? Should you review how this process will go with your interviewer? Should you thank your listeners for tuning in, for reading, or for watching? Do your first words change depending on if your organization is facing a crisis?

To help out our public relations community and in order to share valuable tips among one another, this week’s crisis communications discussion question is,  “What should your first words be in a media interview?”

We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions this week. Comment here and on our social media pages to join the discussion. Your answers may be featured in our follow-up video!

This question is one of a series of debates in the media relations, crisis communications, public relations, and social media industries where you and your colleagues can share observations with each other. Yes, YOU are invited to share your bite size bits of best practices. Here is how:

Step 1: Subscribe to The BraudCast on YouTube

Step 2: You will see a short video that poses a new question every Monday. You then post your best practices and observations on The BraudCast YouTube channel.

Step 3: Once your opinion is shared, you can follow the discussion online so you can compare your best practices to those of your professional colleagues.

Step 4: Watch the follow-up Friday Video where you will see a short YouTube video outlining some of the most interesting observations. Yes…your comments may actually show up on our BraudCast video, bringing you world-wide fame, fortune, a big raise, glory, street parades, and more.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge. Please take 2 seconds now to subscribe to The BraudCast.

Public Relations Question: What’s the Best Piece of PR Advice You Were Ever Given?

PR advice can come from industry professionals, online articles such as PRnews or PR Newswire, or it may come from your former or current educators. PR tips can be spread across social media from consultants and crisis management professionals. So, how do you sort through all of the daily influx of information? What is that one tip that was the most memorable and most impactful on your career?

To help out our corporate communications professionals, and our public relations community, this week’s PR discussion question is, “What’s the best piece of public relations advice you were ever given?”

We would love to hear your thoughts this week. Comment here and on our social media pages to join the discussion. Your answers may be featured in our follow-up video!

This question is one of a series of debates in the media relations, crisis communications, public relations, and social media industries where you and your colleagues can share observations with each other. Yes, YOU are invited to share your bite size bits of best practices. Here is how:

Step 1: Subscribe to The BraudCast on YouTube

Step 2: You will see a short video that poses a new question every Monday. You then post your best practices and observations on The BraudCast YouTube channel.

Step 3: Once your opinion is shared, you can follow the discussion online so you can compare your best practices to those of your professional colleagues.

Step 4: Watch the follow-up Friday Video where you will see a short YouTube video outlining some of the most interesting observations. Yes…your comments may actually show up on our BraudCast video, bringing you world-wide fame, fortune, a big raise, glory, street parades, and more.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge. Please take 2 seconds now to subscribe to The BraudCast.

Stop Unselling: Crisis Communications Tip for United Airlines

united3By Gerard Braud

Are you constantly amazed by how companies unsell you as a customer? Think about the millions of dollars spent and hours invested trying to get you to buy. Then in a heartbeat, they unsell you. When will companies learn to Stop Unselling?

United Airlines had done just that with the video of the doctor being dragged off of an overbooked flight. The impact is compounded by the recent news story about passengers who were denied boarding because they were wearing leggings. That’s two strikes United.

Just for fun, do a Google search for United Airlines and witness how the negative news stories have pushed the airline’s own SEO optimized site out of first place.

united

Then peek at Twitter, to see the field day of negative comments from people who are actively being unsold by United.

united2

The one piece of expert crisis communications advice every company should know is that if your rules favor the company more than they favor the customer, you will eventually unsell your customers.

The incident happened Sunday and began making the news Monday. By the Tuesday news cycle less than 48 hours after the incident, Marketwire reports a 6% fall in the company’s stock, wiping out $1.4 billion dollars in market cap. Even more frightening than the financial loss is that we have to even wonder if that matters to a company with a $22 billion dollar cap? Will they even care?

Will you fly United again? How many people since seeing this video have made a conscious effort to not fly United and are buying their tickets on any other airline?

United has been on my do not fly list for more than ten years after one of their red-coated gate managers removed me, my wife, and two daughters from a flight to Belize, ruining our summer vacation and never compensating us. United repeatedly gave us flawed information about our travel documents before and during the trip. Finally seconds before the door closed we were told to remove our bags and exit the flight. I solved my problem with a single phone call to customs agents in Belize who gave us the green light to fly. It was something United could have done, but didn’t.

United unsold me. On an annual basis, I spend about $50,000 for airline tickets and most of it is spent with Southwest Airlines. Not only has United unsold me, but so has Delta and American because of various acts in which they treated me like a second-class citizen by putting their interests and rules above my rights as a customer.

I’m not sure if we will be able to measure how many passengers right now are selecting flights on other airlines because they saw the video of the doctor being dragged down the aisle.

My fear is that there are actuaries in companies like United who will say that the stock drop and the loss of ticket sales are within the acceptable spectrum of doing business.

Relative Ad Value

In public relations, experts love to measure the relative ad value of positive news. It is based on the idea that your time in a news story is worth three times the value of you having bought an ad in that same media. I can’t wait for an expert to run the data and tell us the negative, unselling effect of this news story.

And what about social media and the comment sections on web-based news sites? What is the negative ad value of that?

Stop Unselling

The bottom line is that corporations make stupid decisions every day. United Airlines is the poster child today.

Dear United Airlines,

Stop Unselling.

Sincerely,

Your former passenger Gerard Braud

 

 

Crisis communications expert Gerard Braud, CSP, IEC has been the go-to expert for organizations on five continents for nearly 25 years. He shares his passion for effective communications through his keynote speeches at conferences and conventions, as well as by helping organizations write an effective crisis communications plan. Additionally, he media trains spokespeople around the world. Braud began his career in journalism in 1979. During his 15 year career on television, you may have seen him on CNN, NBC, CBS, The BBC or The Weather Channel. In 1994 he left television to venture out into the world of public relations. This video will help you get to know him better.

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Is it ever appropriate to say “no comment” in a media interview? Your PR Tips

This week’s crisis communications and media relations question was, “Is it ever appropriate to say “no comment” in a media interview?”

You have watched many lawyers, spokespeople, celebrities, and CEOs walk out of a courtroom or out of their office as the media shoves microphones in their face asking negative questions. “No comment!” they say as they quickly jump into their car and drive off. Is that an appropriate response? Will the media only speculate more if they are not provided with the information they need? Does it depend on the crisis they are in or should spokespeople and CEOs always have a professional answer ready for the media?

Now we want to hear if you agree with your colleagues who contributed their answers this week. Comment here and on our social media pages to join the discussion.

This question is one of a series of debates in the media relations, crisis communications, public relations, and social media industries where you and your colleagues can share observations with each other. Yes, YOU are invited to share your bite size bits of best practices. Here is how:

Step 1: Subscribe to The BraudCast on YouTube

Step 2: You will see a short video that poses a new question every Monday. You then post your best practices and observations on The BraudCast YouTube channel.

Step 3: Once your opinion is shared, you can follow the discussion online so you can compare your best practices to those of your professional colleagues.

Step 4: Watch the follow-up Friday Video where you will see a short YouTube video outlining some of the most interesting observations. Yes…your comments may actually show up on our BraudCast video, bringing you world-wide fame, fortune, a big raise, glory, street parades, and more.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge. Please take 2 seconds now to subscribe to The BraudCast.

Should men wear makeup in a media interview? Media Relations Discussion Question


In this video, crisis communications expert Gerard Braud asks media relations, public relations, and corporate communications professionals, “Should men wear makeup in a media interview?”

We can all remember a time when a certain President was looking extra tired or ill on camera. It’s also clear when a CEO doing a media interview has way too much oily shine on their face. But, have you ever spotted a male on camera that had too much makeup on? How do you ensure it’s done professionally and effectively? If you think they should wear it, should they hire a professional makeup artist? These are all things to consider for this week’s discussion question.

We would love to hear your thoughts this week. Comment here and on our social media pages to join the discussion. Your answers may be featured in our follow-up video!

This question is one of a series of debates in the media relations, crisis communications, public relations, and social media industries where you and your colleagues can share observations with each other. Yes, YOU are invited to share your bite size bits of best practices. Here is how:

Step 1: Subscribe to The BraudCast on YouTube

Step 2: You will see a short video that poses a new question every Monday. You then post your best practices and observations on The BraudCast YouTube channel.

3: Once your opinion is shared, you can follow the discussion online so you can compare your best practices to those of your professional colleagues.

Step 4: Watch the Follow up Friday Video where you will see a short YouTube video outlining some of the most interesting observations. Yes…your comments may actually show up on our BraudCast video, bringing you world-wide fame, fortune, a big raise, glory, street parades, and more.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge. Please take 2 seconds now to subscribe to The BraudCast.

Sharing Your Tips for Writing Great Quotes for News Releases

By Gerard Braud –

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Writing quotes for news releases is no easy feat. Corporate communicators and public relations professionals know that when they write a quote it must sound authentic, heartfelt when necessary, and even unscripted.  They want to make their spokesperson sound credible, professional, and quote-worthy. Earlier this week posed a discussion question on social media asking, “What is your best tip for writing great quotes for news releases?”

Our BraudCast viewers and contributors have weighed in and shared their best practices on our social media pages. As we post this follow-up video featuring their answers, we ask you PR pros to continue the conversation. Do you agree with their opinions? What can you add to the conversation? What experience have you had with writing quotes? Have you ever landed the front page of a newspaper? We want to hear your thoughts.

This question is one of a series of discussion questions about media relations, crisis communications, public relations, and social media. Yes, YOU are invited to share your bite size bits of best practices each week. Here is how:

Step 1: Subscribe to The BraudCast on YouTube

Step 2: You will see a short video that poses a new question every Monday. You then post your best practices and observations on The BraudCast YouTube channel.

3: Once your opinion is shared, you can follow the discussion online so you can compare your best practices to those of your professional colleagues.

Step 4: Watch the Follow up Friday Video where you will see a short YouTube video outlining some of the most interesting observations. Yes…your comments may actually show up on our BraudCast video, bringing you world-wide fame, fortune, a big raise, glory, street parades, and more.

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge. Please take 2 seconds now to subscribe to The BraudCast.