In a PR crisis, response time is everything. While you research and gather facts, it’s crucial to be as authentic and transparent as possible. Use a holding statement for media inquiries until you have all the details. This keeps the conversation going without overpromising or making missteps. Empathy for those affected should guide your communications - people want to feel heard and understood. Before any crisis strikes, make sure you’re prepared. Having templates and a playbook ready means you’re not scrambling to create from scratch. Know your approval/sign-off process in advance to avoid delays and focus on key decision-makers. This ensures timely responses that protect your brand and minimize trust erosion.

Firstly - Handling emergencies or crisis should not be a last minute action for any communications team. Prepare in peace time so you can action in wartime. Conduct mock exercises for crisis/emergency Prepare clear communications plan for various scenarios that you can already map, depending on your business. Template your holding statements(HS). Leave blanks for basics like time/location/ situation etc. During the emergency, publish updated holding statement on your owned channels like website/ X etc. Assign focal from comms team for media handling who directs them to your website/ X with the HS . She/he should assure them that relevant teams are on the job and any updates will be shared with them via the same channels. Be polite.

Very valid insights by industry professionals. However, lets say you 'forgot' to prepare...then these are the five steps you need to follow to make it through the crisis and ensure swift response : 1) Assemble your team comprising of key decision makers from C-Suite, legal, HR, Corp Comm and Founder /Spokesperson 2 ) Take a few moments to debate and decide on the strategy, response, and weightage you want to give to this crisis. 3) Craft answers that are in line with your overall theme 4) Get your spokesperson in place and let him/her rehearse the response. 5) Once the above is set, get into action and start shooting out the response and get ahead of the crisis. After the storm, get them in a room and put together a crisis comm doc.

Three things to consider: 1) Preparation is key. Ideally, you should have a fulsome and flexible crisis management plan in place before a crisis even hits that has been stress-tested by the appropriate stakeholders. That way, you have the building blocks to figure out the right course of action. 2) That preparation also includes monitoring for events that could potentially turn into a crisis, so you're never caught complete off guard. 3) Always consider whether you need to respond with urgency. A member of the media is imposing their deadline on you -- that's their job -- doesn't mean its the right course of action to respond right away. There may be (and often are) other factors driving when and how you respond to their questions.

Ideally you will already have a crisis communications plan, and you have already identified who is on that team, and you've all taken part in a regular preparation exercise. If not, the first real crisis to hit you will hit a lot harder. But in general, you have to strike a balance between communicating in a timely way and yet making sure that everything you are saying is accurate. That's harder than normal when, perhaps, your normal means of verification aren't adapted for the situation.