Recently I ran an urgent crisis-communication session for a client I won’t name.
They already knew their message. They knew what was likely to be said about them, what stakeholders would think, and what the headlines might be.
They sort of knew what they wanted to say, but they didn’t know how to get it out.
So they brought me in to play the bad cop. My job was to ask the uncomfortable questions, the kind that make you squirm a bit, so they could articulate their answers properly.
- The first lesson was that if you don’t truly believe your messaging, then it’s hard to sound credible under pressure. Rather than trying to rehearse messaging you’re unsure about, change the message!
- Don’t fake empathy and think you’re scoring points for good acting. Find the bit you actually care about. Find the thread that connects you to your audience, what matters to them, and where your values overlap. Lead with that.
- Tone changes everything. It shapes how your audience reacts. It’s like when you tell your kids to apologise and they mumble a “soooorry.” You can hear when they don’t mean it, and so can everyone else.
- For this training, we worked on saying the hard part first. “This thing happened.”
Not spun. Just said. The undisputed facts are these. - Then: “Here’s why it happened.” Here’s where you really rely on getting your tone right. Even if people are angry, they’ll forgive honesty delivered with the right tone. Show some empathy, some respect for the people who might be unhappy about ‘the thing’, show them that you ‘get it’. The trick, weirdly, is to not sound rehearsed.
- Next: “Here’s what we’re doing about it.” That’s the part that makes you part of the solution.
- We did a quick tone check and spotted too many “I’s” and not enough “we’s.” We adjusted a few lines once we realised the audience would be angry about a particular issue, so we made sure to acknowledge that, and show we understood why it mattered.
Crisis communication isn’t only about calming the noise. It’s about showing up with tone, truth and trust – and owning it. Like a boss.
Written by
Why train with ThinkBox?
At ThinkBox Media we believe in Strategic Customised Training. This means your training will be developed specifically for you; your industry, your concerns, your real scenarios.
A mining executive is not likely to face the exact same issues as a doctor, a government minister or a not-for-profit organisation. One Size fits all trainings do not work.
Some people need a lot of time to improve their performance, others get stuck on the messaging. Many bigger companies already have some bases covered by their own comms teams freeing up more time to focus on the practical skills.
Often a one-on-one training in required, other times small or larger groups may provide a more cost effective option for a team.
We know you’re results driven and so are we!
Not sure what you need? We can help you.
We have been asked a lot of questions. Many of them about where to start. So we have created a comprehensive FAQ's section to help you navigate the journey.