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NOVEMBER 2016 28 THE JOURNAL BY BRUCE SAVAGE COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT Don't Think That Crisis Communications Comes Easy! The past six to eight months have been partic- ularly busy with various personalities and celebri- ties working hard to implement their necessary crisis communications strategies. Ranging from Olympic swimmers covering up fabricated stories to presidential candidates trying to excuse their in- appropriate comments about women, the various crisis communications strategies employed go to point out that effective communications strategies follow some key concepts and rules. Any business or business leader would be wisely served if they would acknowledge and follow these basis concepts and rules, be it in their personal or business lives. First and foremost, don't lie and get caught in the lie. The simple reality is that in today's world, lying is harder to get away with than ever before. There's lot of video and audio that can be easily accessed and used to "nail" the liar with the real facts of the matter. Once the lie has been discov- ered, it becomes increasingly harder to get the cri- sis situation behind you. You now have to not only deal with the lie, you have to explain why a lie was necessary in the first place and is part of your active "strategy." You've "double-downed" on the situation and made it immediately harder to rectify the situation. Keep it simple…don't lie in the first place. Approach the situation with some sense of humility and honesty. That will certainly make your situation better than if you are "caught" with no sense of remorse, humility or re- gret. People generally want to give the crisis per- petrator a "break" and will extend you the benefit of the doubt. Regardless, you'll in a much better situation if you have the benefit of the doubt even if the facts are not easy or simple. Secondly, and almost as important, show some real contrition and empathy for the crisis. Re- gardless of the reasoning or the circumstances, showing that you have some real empathy and concern for the situation automatically buys you some good will that is invaluable in such a crisis situation. It's also a good strategy to employ as you gather the real facts and circumstances to be part of your explanation. There's no harder climb than trying to dig your self out of a crisis when you don't look or sound as though you really care or are con- cerned about the facts. Third, don't wait to be found out. Hiding from today's media is increasingly difficult and of- fers a "no-win" situation if it comes out that you've already known about the crisis and have simply hoped to avoid having to discuss it. The more information you have available to you, the more prepared you can be when finally confronting the crisis. It a particularly good strategy to have already prepared information and perspective on you or your company that can be easily and quickly referred to when needed. Such preparation im- mediately helps you avoid being caught in the "headlights" and provides you the necessary "good aura" you can immediately benefit from when the crisis is unfolding. Another way of ensuring success in a crisis at- mosphere is to make sure you have built important relationships that can be utilized as the crisis hits. Make sure you have reached out to various groups that can deliver positive relationships before you need them. These relationships can not be faked…they have to be real, based on two-way communications and genuine respect. These groups include employees, local media, public of- ficials, and community opinion leaders, and the community in general. These relationships will never be more appreciated and valued as in times of crisis. During this time working with the media, step forward with explanations of what you are doing, along with discussions why you are doing particu- lar strategies to remedy the situation. Explain how you will work to resolve the crisis and stay com- mitted to the process until resolution. Then take the steps of letting people know how your remedies are being implemented, the results they are hav- ing, with regular schedules reporting what's being achieved. Don't be afraid to tell your side of the story. Remember that media have deadlines that must be recognized and respected. Reach out to re- porters, editors, and other management to pro- vide timely and accurate reports of what's being accomplished while also acknowledging the media's schedules. The key element is all of these crisis communi- cations activities and strategies is information and to keep everyone informed. Even at the risk of overdoing, more information is definitely better than too little information. Too little information will be interpreted as you having something that you're still trying to hide or down play. No one has ever complained about being given too much information! Yes, legal representation can be a valuable tool. But lawyers have a tendency to not want you to communicate…that's part of every lawyer's training. But a crisis demands communications. Try to establish an appropriate balance between what your lawyers want to do and the need to let the public know that your company or you are tak- ing positive steps to resolve the crisis. Lastly, learn from your experiences in the cri- sis. What worked? What could have been done better? Take the lessons from your experiences and improve your plan and your messages so that when the next crisis strikes, you'll be even more in charge and that much more successful. You'll thank yourself for the effort! Bruce Savage is a national communications consultant to both for-profit and non-for-profit clients around the country. He formed Savage Communications Strategies six years ago to assist these clients with innovative approaches to challenging communications situations. He also recently formed www.Amer- icanHousingAdvocates.com with Suzanne Felber to highlight on new social media how manufactured homes offer tremendous opportunities to millions of Americans seeking quality housing at affordable prices. Savage served for more than 16 years as the vice president of communications for the Manufactured Housing Institute and he continues to work with manufactured housing in- dustry members with various types of communications and marketing pro- grams. He can be reached at 202-664-4512 or bruce@savagestrategies.com. T J