Six Ways to Face a Crisis before it Happens

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Crisis Communications

Perhaps bad things won't happen if you don't think about them. Most organizational leaders, like most humans in their personal lives, avoid planning for disasters. Because it's usually a thankless task, we often don't take action until after a crisis has hit us, someone we know, or someone who is like us or in an industry like ours. Yet now more than ever, every organization needs a plan. Responding quickly, fully, and truthfully is the only way you can keep the faith of the publics you serve, inside and outside your organization.

And human nature remains the same in one way: bad news always travels faster than good news. What can you do to protect your or your organization's reputation in the face of a future crisis - inaccurate, incomplete, or biased government or otherwise official or media announcement; or an attack from someone, especially a credible, well-liked, powerful or well-known figure?

Perceptions color reality. If you look angry, resentful, and evasive, even when you are telling the truth, people usually trust their eyes first. Make your appearance congruent with your words, and make your message vivid, truthful, compelling, and succinct.

Picture the Situation and Put in the Practice Before You Need it.

You can't anticipate every possible disaster, but you can presume the most likely possibilities, at least in broad-brushstroke scenarios: accident, verbal attack, negative study or report, and so on. Identify the kinds of worst-case scenarios your company might face and prepare for them with the help of outside experts who can provide candid feedback on your potential scenarios, available facts, spokespersons to use, and responses to make.

Be vividly Specific and Compelling

Turn your comments and answers upside down and begin speaking in the "pyramid style" of good newspaper writing - all of the most important facts in your first sentence, with each subsequent sentence an elaboration, offering layers of supporting detail. Use specific examples, contrasts, details to make your quote more quotable than an opponent's. Speak English "like it tastes good." Use the sensory, situational adjectives of full color, not the grayness of dry abstractions and wordy generalizations.

Be Brief to Build Rapport

Your brevity brings you other benefits. You are less likely to be misquoted. The interviewer stays engaged and feels more comfortable, because he feels in control as he guides the questions. You have more opportunities to complete your comments naturally with your short aside - the positive characterization you have created of your company, received feedback on, and practiced shortly after reading this article.

Be Plainly Clear

Patterns literally distract. To be heard and respected, avoid wearing any kind of patterns, especially on the upper half of your body - patterns break up the attention span of anyone looking at you so they do not listen as long nor remember as much. Other patterns of distraction are ambient or distinct background noise or voices and motion, yours or that of other people. Attempt to speak in a place of visual and sound calmness. People do not have "earlids" to screen out noise and can get distracted. If others are moving around you, listeners are less attentive. If you walk or gesture quickly, you do not look assured or truthful. The more you move your body or your arms, the less people will be able to listen and find you credible. Avoid "hand dances." Gestures that are high, fast, and frequent, especially above the waist, rob you of credibility. Use lower, slower, and few motions to illustrate a point.

Look to Their Positive Intent, Especially When They Appear to have None

One of the surest and most deserved ways to build credibility and respect is to display grace under pressure. Another person's vigorous, personal attack against you, while uncomfortable in the short term, is actually quite advantageous. Genuinely praise some specific action of the person who has criticized you. Because most attacks from critics are not a complete surprise, you usually do have some time in advance to anticipate that they might attack again. Be specific, direct, and truthful. Find some part of the attacker's current or past statements, actions, or motivation with which you can truthfully agree. In most cases, if you can't do this, you are too entrenched in a narrow perspective against them and thus more vulnerable to counterattacks.

Be the First to Say You are Wrong When you are

Say you are sorry. Say it soon. Prove you mean it. Say it in person, if at all possible. Say it first to the person or persons most damaged, no matter how much you'd rather avoid that uncomfortable situation. Otherwise, the situation will metaphorically stick to your feet like tar paper, forever pulling people's attention toward it and away from any subsequent good actions you take. You've made the taint potentially indelible, the stink longer-lasting.

I. Match the adjectives from the text with their synonyms:

	Adjectives		Synonyms
1.	Inaccurate	a.	Indignant, incorrect
2.	Biased	b.	Corresponding, matching, harmonious
3.	Resentful	c.	Convincing, persuasive, exiting
4.	Evasive	d.	Creating a relaxing atmosphere
5.	Congruent	e.	Susceptible, weak
6.	Succinct	f.	Imprecise, incorrect
7.	Compelling	g.	Permanent, unforgettable
8.	Ambient	h.	Elusive, indirect, misleading
9.	Vigorous	i.	Prejudiced, subjective
10.	Vulnerable	j.	Energetic, exuberant
11.	Indelible	k.	Concise, to the point, brief

II. Match the antonyms below with the adjectives from the text in exercise 3:

Feeble, unconvincing, direct, temporary, invincible (unconquerable), precise, unbiased (open-minded, candid), disparate (incompatible).

III. Practice snowball first with the adjectives from the text, then with their synonyms, then with their antonyms. (a student says a word, the second one repeats it and says one more, the next student repeats all words and add one more, etc.)

Example: 1st. student: vulnerable.

2d st.: vulnerable, ambient.

3d st.: vulnerable, ambient, evasive.

………………………………………………….

IV. Complete each sentence with the correct ending:

1.	We often don't take action until after	a	with your words.
2.	What can you do to protect your or your organization's reputation	b	face and prepare for them with the help of outside experts who can provide candid feedback on your potential scenarios.
3.	Make your appearance congruent	c	because he feels in control as he guides the questions.
4.	You can't anticipate every possible disaster, but	d	distract.
5.	Identify the kinds of worst-case scenarios your company might	e	to display grace under pressure.
6.	Use specific examples, contrasts, details to make	f	avoid wearing any kind of patterns.
7.	The interviewer stays engaged and feels more comfortable	g	a crisis has hit us.
8.	Patterns literally	h	in the face of a future crisis?
9.	One of the surest and most deserved ways to build credibility and respect is	i	with which you can truthfully agree.
10.	To be heard and respected	j	your quote more quotable than an opponent's.
11.	In most cases, if you can't do this, you are too entrenched in a narrow perspective against them	k	you can presume the most likely possibilities, at least in broad-brushstroke scenarios.
12.	Find some part of the attacker's current or past statements, actions, or motivation	l	and thus more vulnerable to counterattacks.

Дата добавления: 2015-03-31