180 S.

Mountain Trail Sierra Madre, CA 91024 Phone: (626) 355-7278 Fax: (626) 466-4481
Email: jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com Web Site: www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com



1nL 10 S1LS CI CkISIS CCMMUNICA1ICNS
8y Ionathan 8ernste|n, 2013

"#$%$%& Aoy sltootloo tbot ls tbteoteoloq ot coolJ tbteoteo to botm people ot ptopetty,
setloosly lotettopt bosloess, slqolflcootly Jomoqe tepototloo ooJ/ot oeqotlvely lmpoct
tbe bottom lloe.

Lvery organlzaLlon ls vulnerable Lo crlses. 1he days of playlng osLrlch are gone. ?ou can
play, buL your sLakeholders wlll noL be undersLandlng or forglvlng because Lhey've
waLched whaL happened wlLh luklshlma, enn SLaLe/Sandusky, 8/ueepwaLer and
Wlklleaks.

lf you don'L prepare, you wlll lncur more damage. When l look aL exlsLlng crlsls
managemenL-relaLed plans whlle conducLlng a vulnerablllLy audlL (Lhe flrsL sLep ln crlsls
preparedness), whaL l ofLen flnd ls a fallure Lo address Lhe many communlcaLlons lssues
relaLed Lo crlsls/dlsasLer response. CrganlzaLlonal leadershlp does noL undersLand LhaL,
wlLhouL adequaLe lnLernal and exLernal communlcaLlons, uslng Lhe besL-posslble
channels Lo reach each sLakeholder group:

! CperaLlonal response wlll break down.

! SLakeholders wlll noL know whaL ls happenlng and qulckly become confused,
angry, and negaLlvely reacLlve.

! 1he organlzaLlon wlll be percelved as lnepL, aL besL, and crlmlnally negllgenL, aL
worsL.

! 1he lengLh of Llme requlred Lo brlng full resoluLlon Lo Lhe lssue wlll be exLended,
ofLen dramaLlcally.

1he baslc sLeps of effecLlve crlsls communlcaLlons are noL dlfflculL, buL Lhey requlre
advance work ln order Lo mlnlmlze damage. 1he slower Lhe response, Lhe more damage
ls lncurred. So lf you're serlous abouL crlsls preparedness and response, read and
lmplemenL Lhese 10 sLeps of crlsls communlcaLlons, Lhe flrsL seven of whlch can and
should be underLaken before any crlsls occurs.
1he 10 Steps of Cr|s|s Commun|cat|ons
2013 Ionathan 8ernste|n
age 2 of 8




[1he 10 Steps of Cr|s|s Commun|cat|ons]

kL-CkISIS

1. Ant|c|pate Cr|ses

lf you're belng proacLlve and preparlng for crlses, gaLher your Crlsls CommunlcaLlons
1eam for lnLenslve bralnsLormlng sesslons on all Lhe poLenLlal crlses LhaL could occur
aL your organlzaLlon.

1here are aL leasL Lwo lmmedlaLe beneflLs Lo Lhls exerclse:

! ?ou may reallze LhaL some of Lhe slLuaLlons are prevenLable by slmply
modlfylng exlsLlng meLhods of operaLlon.

! ?ou can begln Lo Lhlnk abouL posslble responses, abouL besL-case/worsL-case
scenarlos, eLc. 8eLLer now Lhan when under Lhe pressure of an acLual crlsls.

ln some cases, of course, you know a crlsls wlll occur because you're plannlng Lo
creaLe lL -- e.g., Lo lay off employees, or Lo make a ma[or acqulslLlon.

1here ls a more formal meLhod of gaLherlng Lhls lnformaLlon l call a "vulnerablllLy
audlL," abouL whlch lnformaLlon ls avallable aL my webslLe,
hLLp://bernsLelncrlslsmanagemenL.com.

1hls assessmenL process should lead Lo creaLlng a Crlsls 8esponse lan LhaL ls an
exacL flL for your organlzaLlon, one LhaL lncludes boLh operaLlonal and
communlcaLlons componenLs. 1he remalnlng sLeps, below, ouLllne some of Lhe
ma[or Loplcs LhaL should be addressed ln Lhe communlcaLlons secLlon of Lhe plan.

2. Ident|fy our Cr|s|s Commun|cat|ons 1eam

A small Leam of senlor execuLlves should be ldenLlfled Lo serve as your organlzaLlon's
Crlsls CommunlcaLlons 1eam. ldeally, Lhe organlzaLlon's CLC wlll lead Lhe Leam, wlLh
Lhe flrm's Lop publlc relaLlons execuLlve and legal counsel as hls or her chlef advlsers.
lf your ln-house 8 execuLlve does noL have sufflclenL crlsls communlcaLlons
experLlse, he or she may choose Lo reLaln an agency or lndependenL consulLanL wlLh
LhaL speclalLy. CLher Leam members are Lyplcally Lhe heads of your ma[or
organlzaLlonal dlvlslons, as any slLuaLlon LhaL rlses Lo Lhe level of belng a crlsls wlll
affecL your enLlre organlzaLlon. And someLlmes, Lhe Leam also needs Lo lnclude
Lhose wlLh speclal knowledge relaLed Lo Lhe currenL crlsls, e.g., sub[ecL-speclflc
1he 10 Steps of Cr|s|s Commun|cat|ons
2013 Ionathan 8ernste|n
age 3 of 8


experLs.

LeL me say a word abouL legal counsel. uurlng a crlsls, a naLural confllcL can arlse
beLween Lhe recommendaLlons of Lhe organlzaLlon's legal counsel on Lhe one hand,
and Lhose of Lhe publlc relaLlons counsel on Lhe oLher. Whlle lL may be legally
prudenL noL Lo say anyLhlng, Lhls klnd of reacLlon can land Lhe organlzaLlon ln publlc
relaLlons "hoL waLer" LhaL ls poLenLlally as damaglng, or even more damaglng, Lhan
any flnanclal or legal ramlflcaLlon. lorLunaLely, more and more legal advlsors are
becomlng aware of Lhls facL and are worklng ln close cooperaLlon wlLh publlc
relaLlons counsel. 1he lmporLance of Lhls undersLandlng cannoL be underesLlmaLed.
1he courL of publlc oplnlon drove ArLhur Anderson, once Lhe mosL-respecLed
lnLernaLlonal accounLlng flrm ln Lhe world, ouL of buslness, noL a courL of law. 1he
lncomes of a number of ma[or celebrlLles suffered huge losses when sponsors
abandoned Lhem due Lo negaLlve publlclLy. LnLlre counLrles have had Lhelr
amblLlons LhwarLed - or alded - as a consequence of Lhelr Lrlals ln Lhe courL of
publlc oplnlon.

3. Ident|fy and 1ra|n Spokespersons

CaLegorlcally, any organlzaLlon should ensure, vla an approprlaLe pollcy and Lralnlng,
LhaL only auLhorlzed spokespersons speak for lL, and Lhls ls parLlcularly lmporLanL
durlng a crlsls. Lach crlsls communlcaLlons Leam should have people who have been
pre-screened, and Lralned, Lo be Lhe lead and/or backup spokespersons for dlfferenL
channels of communlcaLlons.

All organlzaLlonal spokespersons durlng a crlsls slLuaLlon musL have:

! 1he rlghL skllls
! 1he rlghL poslLlon
! 1he rlghL Lralnlng

1be klqbt 5kllls

l've meL senlor-level corporaLe execuLlves who could sLand up ln fronL of a 1,000-
person conference audlence wlLhouL a fear and perform beauLlfully - buL who would
geL vlrLual lock[aw when Lhey knew a vldeo camera was polnLed Lhelr way for a one-
on-one lnLervlew.

l've also known very effecLlve wrlLLen communlcaLors who should probably never do
spoken lnLervlews because Lhey're way Loo llkely Lo sLep ln lL" uslng LhaL formaL.

MaLchlng a poLenLlal spokesperson's skllls wlLh hls/her asslgnmenLs as a member of
Lhe Crlsls CommunlcaLlons 1eam ls crlLlcal.
1he 10 Steps of Cr|s|s Commun|cat|ons
2013 Ionathan 8ernste|n
age 4 of 8



1be klqbt losltloo

Some spokespersons may naLurally excel aL all forms of crlsls communlcaLlons -
LradlLlonal medla, soclal medla, 828, lnLernal, eLc. CLhers may be more llmlLed. Cnly
cerLaln Lypes of hlghly senslLlve crlses (e.g., ones lnvolvlng slgnlflcanL loss of llfe)
vlrLually mandaLe Lhe chlef execuLlve be Lhe lead spokesperson ooless tbete ls vety
qooJ coose to tbe coottoty.

1he facL ls LhaL some chlef execuLlves are brllllanL organlzaLlonal leaders buL noL very
effecLlve ln-person communlcaLors. 1he declslon abouL who should speak ls made
afLer a crlsls breaks - buL Lhe pool of poLenLlal spokespersons should be ldenLlfled
and Lralned ln advance.

noL only are spokespersons needed for medla communlcaLlons, buL for all Lypes and
forms of communlcaLlons, lnLernal and exLernal, lncludlng on-camera, aL a publlc
meeLlng, aL employee meeLlngs, eLc. ?ou really don'L wanL Lo be maklng declslons
abouL so many dlfferenL Lypes of spokespersons whlle "under flre."

4. Spokesperson 1ra|n|ng

1wo Lyplcal quoLes from well-lnLenLloned organlzaLlon execuLlves summarlze Lhe
reason why your spokespersons should recelve professlonal Lralnlng ln how Lo speak
Lo Lhe medla:

"l Lalked Lo LhaL nlce reporLer for over an hour and he dldn'L use Lhe mosL
lmporLanL news abouL my organlzaLlon."

"l've done a loL of publlc speaklng. l won'L have any Lrouble aL LhaL publlc
hearlng."

8egardlng Lhe flrsL example, Lhere have hundreds of people skewered by C8S' "60
MlnuLes" or A8C's 20/20" who LhoughL Lhey knew how Lo Lalk Lo Lhe press. ln Lhe
second case, mosL execuLlves who have aLLended a hosLlle publlc hearlng have
gone home wlshlng Lhey had been wearlng a palr of uepends. 1hey dldn'L learn, ln
advance, Lhe crlLlcal dlfferences beLween proacLlve 8, whlch focuses on promoLlng
your organlzaLlon, and crlsls communlcaLlons, whlch focus on preservlng your
organlzaLlon.

All sLakeholders, lnLernal and exLernal, are [usL as capable of mlsundersLandlng or
mlslnLerpreLlng lnformaLlon abouL your organlzaLlon as Lhe medla, and lL's your
responslblllLy Lo mlnlmlze Lhe chance of LhaL happenlng.

1he 10 Steps of Cr|s|s Commun|cat|ons
2013 Ionathan 8ernste|n
age S of 8


Spokesperson Lralnlng Leaches you Lo be prepared, Lo be ready Lo respond ln a way
LhaL opLlmlzes Lhe response of all sLakeholders.

S. Lstab||sh Not|f|cat|on and Mon|tor|ng Systems

Notlflcotloo 5ystems

8emember when Lhe only way Lo reach someone qulckly was by a slngle phone or
fax number, assumlng Lhey were Lhere Lo recelve elLher?

1oday, we have Lo have - lmmedlaLely aL hand - Lhe means Lo reach our lnLernal
and exLernal sLakeholders uslng mulLlple modallLles. Many of us have several phone
numbers, more Lhan one emall address, and can recelve SMS (LexL) messages or
faxes. lnsLanL Messenger programs, elLher publlc or proprleLary, are also very
popular for buslness and personal use. We can even send audlo and vldeo messages
vla emall. And Lhen, of course, Lhere ls soclal medla. 1hls may be Lhe besL/fasLesL
way Lo reach some of our sLakeholders, buL seLLlng up soclal medla accounLs for Lhls
purpose and developlng a number of followers/frlends/conLacLs on Lhe varlous
soclal medla plaLforms (e.g., lacebook, Llnkedln, Coogle+) ls noL someLhlng you can
do '()*# a crlsls breaks, because nowhere does news of a crlsls spread fasLer and
more ouL of your conLrol Lhan on soclal medla.

uependlng on how Lechle" we choose Lo be, all of Lhls Lype of communlcaLlon - and
more - may be recelved on or senL by a slngle devlce!

lL ls absoluLely essenLlal, pre-crlsls, Lo esLabllsh noLlflcaLlon sysLems LhaL wlll allow
you Lo rapldly reach your sLakeholders uslng mulLlple modallLles. 1he vlrglnla 1ech
campus shooLlng caLasLrophe, where emall was Lhe sole means of alerLlng sLudenLs
lnlLlally, proves LhaL uslng any slngle modallLy can make a crlsls worse. Some of us
may be on emall consLanLly, oLhers noL so. Some of us recelve our cellphone calls or
messages qulckly, some noL. lf you use more Lhan one modallLy Lo reach your
sLakeholders, Lhe chances are much greaLer LhaL Lhe message wlll go Lhrough.

lor a long Llme, Lhose of us ln crlsls managemenL relled on Lhe old-fashloned phone
Lree" and Leams of callers Lo Lrack people down. lorLunaLely, Loday Lhere ls
Lechnology - offered by mulLlple vendors for renL or purchase - LhaL can be seL up Lo
auLomaLlcally sLarL conLacLlng all sLakeholders ln your pre-esLabllshed daLabase and
keep Lrylng Lo reach Lhem unLll Lhey conflrm (e.g., by presslng a cerLaln number on a
phone keypad) LhaL Lhe message has been recelved. 1echnology you can Lrlgger
wlLh a slngle call or emall.



1he 10 Steps of Cr|s|s Commun|cat|ons
2013 Ionathan 8ernste|n
age 6 of 8


Mooltotloq 5ystems

lnLelllgence gaLherlng ls an essenLlal componenL of boLh crlsls prevenLlon and crlsls
response.

knowlng whaL's belng sald abouL you on soclal medla, ln LradlLlonal medla, by your
employees, cusLomers, and oLher sLakeholders ofLen allows you Lo caLch a negaLlve
Lrend" LhaL, lf unchecked, Lurns lnLo a crlsls.

Llkewlse, monlLorlng feedback from all sLakeholders durlng a crlsls slLuaLlon allows
you Lo accuraLely adapL your sLraLegy and LacLlcs

8oLh requlre monlLorlng sysLems be esLabllshed ln advance. lor LradlLlonal and
soclal medla, Coogle AlerLs are Lhe no-cosL favorlLe. 1here a varleLy of pald
monlLorlng servlces LhaL provlde noL only monlLorlng, buL also Lhe ablllLy Lo reporL
resulLs ln a number of formaLs useful Lo planners. MonlLorlng oLher sLakeholders
means Lralnlng personnel who have fronL-llne conLacL wlLh sLakeholders (e.g.,
CusLomer Servlce) Lo reporL whaL Lhey're hearlng or seelng Lo declslon-makers on
your Crlsls CommunlcaLlons 1eam.

6. Ident|fy and know our Stakeho|ders

Who are Lhe lnLernal and exLernal sLakeholders LhaL maLLer Lo your organlzaLlon? l
conslder employees Lo be your mosL lmporLanL audlence, because evety employee ls
o lk tepteseototlve ooJ ctlsls moooqet fot yoot otqoolzotloo wbetbet yoo woot
tbem to be ot oot! 8uL, ulLlmaLely, all sLakeholders wlll be Lalklng abouL you Lo
oLhers noL on your conLacL llsL, so lL's up Lo you Lo ensure LhaL Lhey recelve Lhe
messages you would llke Lhem Lo repeaL elsewhere.

7. Deve|op no|d|ng Statements

Whlle full message developmenL musL awalL Lhe ouLbreak of an acLual crlsls,
"holdlng sLaLemenLs," messages deslgned for use lmmedlaLely afLer a crlsls breaks,
can be developed ln advance Lo be used for a wlde varleLy of scenarlos Lo whlch Lhe
organlzaLlon ls percelved Lo be vulnerable, based on Lhe assessmenL you conducLed
ln SLep 1 of Lhls process. An example of holdlng sLaLemenLs by a hoLel chaln wlLh
properLles hlL by a naLural dlsasLer, before Lhe organlzaLlon headquarLers has any
hard facLual lnformaLlon, mlghL be:

"we bove lmplemeoteJ oot ctlsls tespoose ploo, wblcb ploces tbe blqbest ptlotlty
oo tbe beoltb ooJ sofety of oot qoests ooJ stoff."

"Oot beotts ooJ mloJs ote wltb tbose wbo ote lo botm's woy, ooJ we bope tbot
1he 10 Steps of Cr|s|s Commun|cat|ons
2013 Ionathan 8ernste|n
age 7 of 8


tbey ote well."

"we wlll be sopplyloq oJJltloool lofotmotloo wbeo lt ls ovolloble ooJ postloq lt
oo oot webslte."

1he organlzaLlon's Crlsls CommunlcaLlons 1eam should regularly revlew holdlng
sLaLemenLs Lo deLermlne lf Lhey requlre revlslon and/or wheLher sLaLemenLs for
oLher scenarlos should be developed.

CS1-CkISIS

8. Assess the Cr|s|s S|tuat|on

8eacLlng wlLhouL adequaLe lnformaLlon ls a classlc "shooL flrsL and ask quesLlons
afLerwards" slLuaLlon ln whlch you could be Lhe prlmary vlcLlm. Powever, lf you've
done all of Lhe above flrsL, lL's a "slmple" maLLer of havlng Lhe Crlsls CommunlcaLlons
1eam on Lhe recelvlng end of lnformaLlon comlng ln from your Leam members,
ensurlng Lhe rlghL Lype of lnformaLlon ls belng provlded so you can proceed wlLh
deLermlnlng Lhe approprlaLe response.

Assesslng Lhe crlsls slLuaLlon ls, Lherefore, Lhe flrsL crlsls communlcaLlons sLep you
can'L Lake ln advance. lf you haven'L prepared ln advance, your reacLlon wlll be
delayed by Lhe Llme lL Lakes your ln-house sLaff or qulckly hlred consulLanLs Lo run
Lhrough sLeps 1 Lo 7. lurLhermore, a hasLlly creaLed crlsls communlcaLlons sLraLegy
and Leam are never as efflclenL as Lhose planned and rehearsed ln advance.

9. I|na||ze and Adapt key Messages

WlLh holdlng sLaLemenLs avallable as a sLarLlng polnL, Lhe Crlsls CommunlcaLlons
1eam musL conLlnue developlng Lhe crlsls-speclflc messages requlred for any glven
slLuaLlon. 1he Leam already knows, caLegorlcally, whaL Lype of lnformaLlon lLs
sLakeholders are looklng for. WhaL should Lhose sLakeholders know abouL tbls crlsls?
keep lL slmple. Pave no more Lhan Lhree maln messages LhaL go Lo all sLakeholders
and, as necessary, some audlence-speclflc messages for lndlvldual groups of
sLakeholders.

10. ost-Cr|s|s Ana|ys|s

AfLer Lhe fecal maLLer ls no longer lnLeracLlng wlLh Lhe roLaLlng blades, Lhe quesLlon
musL be asked, WhaL dld we learn from Lhls?"

A formal analysls of whaL was done rlghL, whaL was done wrong, whaL could be done
beLLer nexL Llme and how Lo lmprove varlous elemenLs of crlsls preparedness ls
1he 10 Steps of Cr|s|s Commun|cat|ons
2013 Ionathan 8ernste|n
age 8 of 8


anoLher musL-do acLlvlLy for any Crlsls CommunlcaLlons 1eam. l have developed a
formal process for accompllshlng Lhls, buL even a solld ln-house bralnsLormlng
sesslon can do Lhe [ob.

"It Can't nappen 1o Us"

When a healLhy organlzaLlon's CLC or ClC looks aL Lhe cosL of preparlng a crlsls
communlcaLlons plan, elLher a heavy lnvesLmenL of ln-house Llme or reLenLlon of an
ouLslde professlonal for a subsLanLlal fee, lL ls LempLlng for Lhem Lo fanLaslze "lL can'L
happen Lo us" or "lf lL happens Lo us, we can handle lL relaLlvely easlly."

Popefully, LhaL Lype of osLrlch emulaLlon ls rapldly becomlng a Lhlng of Lhe pasL. ?eL l
know when all ls sald and done, Lhousands of organlzaLlons hlL by naLural and man-
made dlsasLers wlll have suffered far more damage Lhan would have occurred wlLh a
fully developed crlsls communlcaLlons plan ln place. 1hls has also been palnfully Lrue for
scores of cllenLs l have served over Lhe pasL 30+ years. Lven Lhe besL crlsls managemenL
professlonal ls playlng caLch up - wlLh more damage occurrlng all Lhe Llme - when Lhe
organlzaLlon has no crlsls communlcaLlons lnfrasLrucLure already ln place.

1he Last Word - Ior Now

l would llke Lo belleve organlzaLlons worldwlde are flnally "geLLlng lL" abouL crlsls
preparedness, wheLher we're Lalklng abouL crlsls communlcaLlons, dlsasLer response or
buslness conLlnulLy. CerLalnly, cllenL demand for advance preparaLlon has lncreased
dramaLlcally ln Lhe pasL half-decade, aL leasL for my consulLancy. 8uL l fear Lhere ls, ln
facL, llLLle change ln whaL l have sald ln Lhe pasL - LhaL 93 percenL of Amerlcan
organlzaLlons remaln elLher compleLely unprepared or slgnlflcanLly under-prepared for
crlses. And my colleagues overseas reporL llLLle beLLer, and someLlmes worse sLaLlsLlcs.

Choose Lo be parL of Lhe prepared mlnorlLy. ?our sLakeholders wlll appreclaLe lL!

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