crisis communications planning, crisis communications skills training, crisis publicity, crisis situation and media publicity, handling crisis in the media, crisis strategy

Crisis Situations—the publicity nightmares that catch the eye of savvy reporters to make headline news…

A sexual harassment lawsuit that’s being filed against you.
A product recall due to a defective component.
A medical mistake which resulted in an untimely death.
A sudden illness which is spreading at epidemic proportions.
A discovery of “accounting irregularities” in your business.
A terrorist attack against your city or school.
An allegation of criminal misconduct by a high-profile official or athlete.

Almost as soon as you become aware of your crisis, your phone begins to ring. It’s a reporter who wants your reaction to the crisis unfolding right before your very eyes. In an instant, you need to articulate a statement without getting trapped in your own words.

What you say next will determine the future of your company. A simple mistake, a slip of the tongue, a slight contradiction caught by the press could spell immediate disaster. Would you know what to do if a crisis suddenly stared you straight in the eyes?

At BelAir Training, we realize that how you respond to a crisis situation is often more important than the crisis itself. That’s why we’ve designed a crisis communications seminar to help you cope with the challenges of dealing with the media in the midst of a crisis. Now you can learn what professional spokespersons already know. In this seminar you’ll learn:

What to do when a reporter calls and how to avoid getting trapped in your own words
Why saying “no comment” or deferring media questions to your attorney could be the kiss of death
How to rephrase a “loaded” question into a neutral one and the method for responding to it.
What single question you should fear most and how to answer it.
How three simple secrets can help a reporter see your point of view and even take your side.
How to keep your composure and remain in control even if emotions are running wild
When to admit you are wrong and when to offer an apology to win back the public’s trust.

And, as if these fundamentals for handling crisis communications aren’t powerful enough, you’ll also experience first hand how to cope with a crisis situation. Through the use of a real-time mock disaster, you’ll learn how to:

Develop a crisis communications plan that provides logistics and communications tools to act quickly and responsibly in virtually any crisis situation.
Formulate the key messages crucial to any crisis communications strategy.
Smoothly implement crisis communications strategies under deadline pressure.

Each participant will be video taped while responding to a mock crisis situation. The interview questions will be difficult and challenging. Then, you will receive personalized feedback to better learn how to skillfully handle the media when faced with a crisis.

When a crisis strikes, you need to protect and preserve your most valuable asset: your reputation. Having a solid crisis communications strategy is like first aid training—you never know when or if you’ll need it, but the knowledge can save your life.

"Your Crisis Communications training was outstanding. The best way to learn is through practice, and the best way to practice is in a
non-threatening environment."

Chief Annette Sandberg
Washington State Patrol

"Candace was beyond our expectations with knowledge, experience and professionalism. A true expert.”

Judy Hommen
Director – Training & Development
Carey International, Inc.

“Many of our managers considered your workshop on Crisis Communications the most valuable of the two-day meeting."

Duane Woods
V.P. and General Counsel
Western Region
Waste Management

CRISIS COMMUNICATION TRAINING ARTICLES --