The Worst Phrases You’ve Ever Heard in a Crisis Communications Statement

I asked social media followers, public relations professionals, and media relations experts, “What are The Worst Phrases You’ve Ever Heard in a Crisis Communications Statement?”

A few years back I was running a series of videos asking subscribers some crisis communications and public relations questions. I would ask one question per week on LinkedIn and Twitter.  Next, I would seek their responses on social media, gather them, and then report on what they said the following week. It created an engaging relationship with my colleagues, followers, and professionals in the public relations, corporate communications, media relations and crisis communications industries.

Years later, there is one video that still remains a most popular video ever.

Have you heard things like “We apologize for the inconvenience?” Have you heard, “It wasn’t our responsibility?” Or can you name a brand that you just KNOW got it totally wrong in their crisis statement, press release, or press conference?

Here were their responses, as well as a few of my own professional comments as a media trainer.  Safety is a goal. Create your own compare and contrast statements. Direct the media interview.  Watch the video to see what I mean.

As a way to show your continued support and to see more of our most popular crisis communications videos, please hit Subscribe on The BraudCast YouTube channel.

And stay tuned for next week’s second most popular crisis communications video ever.

Crisis communications and media training expert Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC is based in New Orleans. Organizations on five continents have relied on him to write their crisis communications plans and to train their spokespeople. He is the author of “Don’t Talk to the Media Until…” and founder of SituationHub crisis communications software.

More crisis communications articles:

15 Questions to Ask Before You Use Facebook for Crisis Communications

Can You Handle a Crisis When it Hits by Winging It?

Where is Your Crisis Communications Funnel Clogged?