CRISIS COMMUNICATION

B6

Group

Communicating with lawyers

Communicating with lawyers

Spokespersons can speak too much, thats
where the lawyers come into picture.

Court of Law: Innocent until proven Guilty

vs
Court of Public Opinion: Guilty until proven
Innocent

One can win in the court of law but still lose in

the court of public opinion

Communicating with lawyers

Similarly, the defendant can lose in court
but win the battle of public opinion.
E.g.: Case of Marrion Barry

Effective pre-crisis planning needed to

maintain a fine balance between PR
and Law.

Different strategies needed for each kind

of crisis

Communicating with the

News Media

When something bad happens you have three

choices.
You can let it define you, let it destroy you, or you

Key Points To Remember Before

Interacting with Media
Public Perception CEO
is the heart of the
organization

Media &
publics
Entitleme
nt to facts

Symbiotic
Relationshi
p between
media &
organizatio
n

Discourage
Response digression from
backed by crisis
Cover-ups
thorough
can prove to research &
be disastrouspractice

5 Cs of Crisis Communication
During Interviews

Competen
ce

Capabilit
y

Credibility

5 Cs
Id like my life
back
- Tony Hayward,
Caring
CEO BP
Being intelligent isnt enough.
Emotional Intelligence is equally

Commitm
ent

Communicating with the Masses

Impact of Social
Media
Cause of Crisis
Adds fuel to fire
Medium for effective
communication

Cause of Crisis

Adds Fuel To
Fire

Medium of Effective
Communication
I

love that
Southwest
actually comes
out and tells
without waiting
for pressure
from the
media

Lessons to Learn
Be sensitive to the power of social media.
Even a small issue like a silly comment or an
unintentional coincidence that gets picked up by others
on social media can quickly snowball into a PR crisis.
Address even small complaints from your fans or
others with grace and good sense.