CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING GUIDE
BIG SKY. AUDREY HALL
Crisis Communications Planning Guide
When a crisis arises, it’s essential to communicate quickly, clearly, and with an accurate, thoughtful and consistent message. The following is guidance for your organization to develop a plan for communicating with your primary audience during and after a crisis, which may include the public, stakeholders and members of the media. Use this guide during less busy times of the year for your organization to create a process that works for your team. Once you’ve done so, make a plan to revisit the guide at least once a year to keep it up-to-date. Look for things, like personnel changes and out-of-date contact information, and incorporate or change your process based on lessons learned that can be applied to your guide. Change the date at the bottom of the page each time you update the guide.
DEFINING A CRISIS
A crisis is any event that occurs suddenly and brings about the possibility of disruptions—like changes to day-to-day operations and long-term impacts—and requires public response. What constitutes a crisis will vary in terms of intensity, implications, and your organization’s corresponding response. Below is a sample framework to think about different types of crises your organization may face, the appropriate response to that crisis, and the goals your organization should work toward when thinking about how to respond.
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