The Fundamentals of Crisis Communications
Below is a description of the fundamental elements of crisis communications. If you believe this can be improved, we invite you to comment on it by posting your thoughts below. Crisis communications at its most basic level consists of three elements: crisis planning, crisis response and crisis recovery. Crisis planning is the work done to define what constitutes a crisis for the organization, identify vulnerabilities -- both likely and less-than-likely, assign responsibilities, prepare a spokesperson with media training, practice periodically and prepare standby materials as appropriate. I've seen organizations spend tens of thousands of dollars on the development of a crisis communications plan the size of a phone book and I've seen others create a perfectly functional crisis plan on the back and front a business card. The important thing is the thinking that goes into the process and the commitment to …