1. DA010 - Professional Diploma in Public Relations - COMM6005EP
Public Relations Presentation and
Communication Skills (2011/10)
Lecture 9
Crisis Communications
Developed and Presented by
Roy Ying, Msc., B.Comm.
Note: Pictures used in this power point file
is for academic Purpose only

2. What do we mean by crisis?

3. Risk, incident & crisis management

4. Media protocol & action hierarchy

5. Emergency Personnel Team
• You – as PR manager
• Spokesperson (1-2)
• Phone team (talk to media)
• Researcher and writer
• Decision maker
• Legal council, if applicable

6. First determine what’s wrong, e.g.
• Human error
• Clerical error
• Unauthorized procedures
• Inadequate supervision
• Inadequate quality control
• Misuse of confidential information
• Errors of judgement
• Inadequate standard operating procedures

7. Develop your core message
• You want this message to be heard in
every step of how people assimilate news

8. Prepare different version of core
message for different media

9. Prepare different version of core
message for different media

10. Media cycle

13. Media Statement Preparation

14. Tell everyone your core message!
1. Emergency Personnel Team
2. Board of Directors
3. Employees
4. Members
5. Other Stakeholders

15. Example – Michael Jackson
• Died on 25 June, 2009

16. Crisis communications
• "The world lost a kind soul who just
happened to be the greatest entertainer
the world has ever known," Randy Phillips,
chief executive of AEG Live, said in a
statement. "Since he loved his fans in life,
it is incumbent upon us to treat them with
the same reverence and respect after his
death.“
29 June 2009

17. Emergency crisis media interview

18. Designated Spokespersons
• Must be a senior officer
• Interest and empathy
• Honesty and authenticity
• Responsive and proactive
• Open to criticism
• A good story teller

19. Lack of crisis communications
preparation

20. Interview skill - Bridging
• Don’t Know: I don’t know, but I can tell
you…
• Time: That may have been the case in the
past. Now we are…
• Importance: That once was important. What
is most important now is…
• Completing: I think you would have a more
complete picture if you considered…
• Yes and No: No, let me explain. Yes, and
furthermore…

21. 7 Must Have Elements in Your
Crisis Communication Kit
1. A list of the members of the crisis
management team
2. Contact information for key officers,
spokespeople, and crisis management team
members
3. Fact sheets on the company, each division,
each physical location, and each product
offered.
4. Profiles and biographies for each key
manager in your company

22. 7 Must Have Elements in Your
Crisis Communication Kit
5. Copies of your company, division and
product logos, your press release format
and the scanned in signature of your CEO
on disk
6. Pre-written scripts answering key questions
that you have generated through your crisis
scenario analysis
7. Contact information for each of your key
media contacts both locally, nationally, and if
appropriate, key financial press and analysts.

23. Key considerations

24. Crisis media strategy should…

25. Remember…

26. What NOT to do

28. Using the 10 golden rules
• Outline what you think the Tokyo Electric
could have done a better job in
communicating this crisis to the public
Credit: Ike Pigott