Body language and tone can be critical factors.
You can plan. You can talk strategy. You can memorize key talking points. But the best prep tool to combat crises is staying sincere and letting your humanity show.
This is something often forgotten in the face of major disaster when there’s pressure to act quickly. It’s also not easy for every leader.
“Put yourself in the place of the survivors or those who are impacted by a disaster,” said Dan Stoneking, founder and vice president of the Emergency Management External Affairs Association and former FEMA external affairs director.
“I think too often people in our business think about sound bites and how to protect the reputation of the organization, but if you give useful, meaningful, lifesaving and property protecting information, then all the rest is going to protect itself,” he said.
Going into “reactive response mode” in the face of a crisis only gets you so far, he said. It’s important to evaluate past crises and implement a long-term strategy. When you’re prepared, you can respond in a more authentic, human way without getting caught up in all the words.
“Everyone seems to be so hyper focused on talking points that they forget about tone and non-verbal cues,” Stoneking said. “Leaders and communicators need feedback on that because some people can come across as not being compassionate. They need to be told how to do this and learn how to demonstrate that better.”
To stay prepped, Stoneking encourages crisis comms teams to work with leadership on role-playing by using real world scenarios and evaluating on camera performance. This exercise can be uncomfortable for some, but it’s necessary to establish the right tone and the right body language in addition to the right message.
Stoneking remembers working with a very polished and effective leader who was scheduled to testify in front of Congress. But that leader needed to be reminded not to skip over pleasantries when being questioned so as not to come across as curt. Greetings and thank yous can go a long way.
“By explaining that you’re on (your leader’s) side and helping them, but also that you’re going to reduce their fear and increase their success,” leaders can appreciate drills in compassion as much as drills in the right messaging, Stoneking said.
Addressing media inquiries
It won’t be possible to respond to individual queries or take every phone call in a crisis, but it is important to keep the media and public updated in a timely manner and show that you’re making progress toward solutions and that you’re paying attention to their questions.
“Prioritize and be responsive,” Stoneking said. “When I was on the ground shortly after Hurricane Maria hit in Puerto Rico, within minutes I had hundreds of media queries. So I made sure to hit some national and some major local (news outlets) and then you prioritize from there and be as responsive as you can be.”
When that becomes too overwhelming, hold daily press briefings to share information to show what daily progress is being made, he said. This ensures that both the media and public see you’re making every effort to inform.
“Share your briefing schedule,” Stoneking said. “Give the press something they can rely on and take questions at that time. This helps manage expectations. I think that’s really important.”
Share as much as is reasonable with the public, be transparent about those efforts in order to foster better communications and relationships, he said.
“Put egos aside and focus on the mission,” Stoneking said. “You want to provide the facts in an educational, formative way and remember the primary audience. The media is the medium but the message is for the public, the survivors and those impacted.”
Register here and join Stoneking and other industry experts for Ragan’s Crisis Communications Virtual Conference on Tuesday, June 17 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET.
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
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