Crisis communications: six experience-based tips from consultant Sue Martin

A crisis can happen to any organisation. Deliberate attacks on your reputation by an opponent, by a disgruntled employee, or even cultural misunderstanding.?

But it's not the end of the world! Sue Martin , a very experienced communications consultant who has just joined the Nonprofit Builder, kindly gave us six tips to help get yourself out of trouble...?

These tips are so good and valuable that we decided to publish them. So be sure to bookmark this page or save the content somewhere, because one day it may come in handy for you!

Sue's six tips:

1. Don't panic! Counter the fear and don't get derailed.
2. Inform your insiders first. Make sure that everybody in your organisational family knows about what is going on. This includes your donors and other close stakeholders. They should hear the facts from you first, not from the media. "Hey, we've got a problem, we're looking at it." They may also offer useful insights or support.
3. Don't attack or rebut. Don't attack the source of the crisis or try to rebut what has been negatively said, which only gives more airtime to your opponent and may further sink you. Rather, assemble your facts, play to your strengths, explain what you do and why you are proud of it. Open your doors.
4. Don't stay silent. Don't be rushed into giving a full explanation, but don't be silent either. “No comment” is a no-no! This means issuing what is called a "holding statement”, a brief interim news release to give yourself time for a comprehensive response. A holding statement typically goes something like this: "We are aware there‘s a breaking story in the media/on social media, we are looking at it… we want to hear from all involved to be fair, we want to investigate before we respond more fully, we are taking it very seriously". But don't repeat the damaging information in your statement - and check your statement with key colleagues before issuing (if necessary, with a lawyer).
5. Find the right person to tell your story. Your director may or may not be the right person. Look around the organisation and match the spokespeople to the crisis. For example, if it's a human issue, someone warm and empathetic. Or someone comfortable with social media. Or maybe someone local to the region.?
6. Think hard about your messages, but don't lie. That's a really bad idea, ethically and tactically. And it will get uncovered!

With these useful tips at hand, we asked Sue: why would an organisation still need a consultant? She replied:

• You need to look where the crisis comes from, and communicate in the opponent's preferred media, to reach their opinion informers and audiences. You can't just work in your own vacuum, and a consultant can help with that.
• An external consultant can help unpack the issues clearly, to offer an outsider's perspective, which is harder for you as you are so close to your work.
• To ask the awkward questions. Have you got any skeletons in your closet? Even a communications director may not be in a position to ask these challenging questions.
• A really good orchestra still needs a conductor. An experienced outside consultant can do the air traffic control and help prioritise, especially if the staff is under stress. "I can take care of this, but we need to meet at 2pm to take care of that."

Sue also provides crisis rehearsals to organisations, using a scenario to play out the response so that the team can practice on how to respond. Yes, you may have a crisis communications plan, but this may be an outdated document sitting on a shelf. And as Mike Tyson says, "Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth"! It's much more valuable to practice and develop reflexes and skills that will be remembered when they are needed.

Thank you very much Sue for an awesomely useful and instructive conversation!

Sue is one of close to 300 consultants in the Nonprofit Builder network, who offer organisational development support to the grantees of our 15 member foundations, on any topic needed to build impactful organisations.

If you are a grantee of one of the Nonprofit Builder's member foundations, you can consult her for free, through the contact form on her profile page. Lucky you!

Otherwise, if you want to call on Sue Martin 's advice or learn more about her services and experience, you can reach her via her Linked In.

If you found this useful, please help by liking it, sharing it with your network, and sending it to specific friends or colleagues who may need it too. And comment with your own experiences of communications in crisis!

by Daniel D'Esposito