Crisis Communications

Course Introduction

The last place and time that you want to discover all about crisis communications is when hordes of media are clamouring at your doors and social media is white hot. Crises often erupt when you least expect them, but if you communicate quickly and well you can keep your reputations intact. The key lies in effective preparation from developing plans to anticipating the types of crisis likely to hit you. Managing issues well can also help you to avoid many potential crises.

This Crisis Communication training course will help you to build a toolkit of skills and collateral to meet the unknown with confidence and to put into place a tried and tested plan when speed is of the essence. This Crisis Communications training course will allow you to practice in realistic but safe situations to turn insight into highly practical routines and resources. The toolkit of skills learned during the training course will help increase participants’ ability to meet and exceed their work objectives.

This Oxford Crisis Communications training course will highlight:

• Analysis of real life cases to understand what to do and not to do
• The way to put together a set of plans to cover your risks
• The resources that you will need to create a crisis communications centre
• How to handle the media – both traditional and social
• How best to keep stakeholders informed and monitor their response

Objectives

This Oxford Crisis Communications training course will enable participants to:

• Analyse the range of issues that could develop into crises
• Understand how to create issue briefs and teams within a crisis plan
• Discover how to select spokespeople and to train them
• Learn the importance of your first response and how to craft it
• Discover how to monitor the response to issues and stakeholder reaction
• Practice crisis communication in a realistic simulation

Training Methodology

This training course uses a wide variety of proven adult learning techniques to ensure effective assimilation and retention of the information presented. This training course is highly interactive and will prompt delegates to reflect on their own thinking, communication style and practice.

Your Tutor will guide and facilitate learning using a wide variety of methods including direct input, video, discussions and group and individual exercises to focus on the themes of the training course, practice skills and receive feedback.

Organisational Impact

The Participants’ company will benefit in the following ways:

• Increase the availability of skilled PR staff to protect your reputation
• More effective planning processes to help avoid or manage crises
• Have an active system to continually update intelligence on risks
• Increased ability to manage the media both traditional and social
• Develop an up-to-date crisis communications centre and support for managers

Course Outline

Day One

Crisis or Issue?

Day Two

Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

Day Three

Managing Media – Traditional and Social

Day Four

Stakeholder Communications

Day Five

Crisis Communications Exercise