Speaking with confidence

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Speaking with confidence
Techniques for the effective spokesperson

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Todays Goals

• Staying on message
• Handling tough questions
• Maintaining control over story content
• Avoiding misquotes
• Understanding soundbites
• Communicating in a crisis

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Who is this guy?

• An investigation of security violations is under
  way at Los Alamos ... As for the reports of
  e-mail security violations, spokesman Kevin Roark
  said
• ...... Kevin Roark told The Chronicle on Friday.
  Roark also said Holian's statistical charts
  showing Los Alamos' high performance in safety
  miss the point. ...
• National Public Radio Kevin Roark is a lab
  spokesman. Mr. KEVIN ROARK (Spokesman, Los Alamos
  National Laboratory) No one's been idle. The lab
  has been open. ...
• CBS News Lab spokesman Kevin Roark said Los
  Alamos officials are "eager to explain all the
  lab has done in response to this latest incident
  and to outline for the ...

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Resources
http//www.agu.org/sci_soc/MediaGuide.pdf
The Crisis Store James Lucaszewski
http//www.e911.com/
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A Favorite Interview
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Media in the Information Age

• We find ourselves at a crossroads
• Journalism -- what has become of it?
• http//www.journalism.org/
• The Internets effect on the practice
• Radical ideas

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New Delivery Systems

• Weblogs
• e-Papers
• Broadcast web

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New Rules of Engagement

• New kinds of news sources
• Reporting opinion as fact
• Sins of omission
• Standards of inaccuracy
• Inconsistent reporter behavior

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Feeling hopeless?

• All is not lost
• Our jobs are just harder
• Preparation is the key

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New Communication Techniques

• Managing expectations
• Making communications a process
• Communication planning
• Key Consent Factors
• Messaging The Triangle

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Break
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Working with a message triangle
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Working with a message triangle
Key Message Point ?Proof Pointwhere possible,
incorporate throughout your message triangle such
message enhancers as specific examples
meaningful statistics analogies, metaphors
similes the Three Cs (colorful words,
clichés, contemporary references) one-liners,
personal experience quotes from expertsor your
opposition Proof Point Proof Point Subsidiary
bullet Subsidiary bullet Proof Point
MAIN MESSAGE (TYPICALLY UNSTATED)
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Working with a message triangle
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Working with a message triangle
Off-message question or issue to
redirect Point Point Subsidiary bullet Subsidiary
bullet Bridge to a key message above whenever
possible
Off-message question or issue to
redirect Point Point Subsidiary bullet Subsidiary
bullet Bridge to a key message above whenever
possible
Off-message question or issue to
redirect Point Point Subsidiary bullet Subsidiary
bullet Bridge to a key message above whenever
possible
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Working with a message triangle
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Reduced performance anxiety

• Stagecraft
• Rehearsal
• Simplicity
• Brevity
• Enthusiasm
• Accuracy

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Anatomy of a soundbite

• How are soundbites captured?
• How are they used?
• How soundbites have changed
• How to get the soundbite of your choosing into
  the story

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Break
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Crisis Communications

• What is a crisis?
• Anticipating versus reacting

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Crisis

• News clipping research by the Institute for
  Crisis Management shows that 86 percent of crises
  stem from issues previously known to management,
  so-called smoldering crises. Only a small
  percentage of crises arise from the stereotypical
  sudden crisis, such as an explosion, fire, or
  industrial accident. Clearly, the majority of
  crises can be anticipatedand potentially
  prevented from ever becoming a crisis in the
  first place.

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Crisis defined

• CrisisAn event, other than a declared emergency,
  that creates or threatens to create an unusually
  high level of harshly negative media coverage and
  external criticism.
• EmergencyAs defined by your Emergency Management
  organization or police force. Emergency
  Communications are wholly separate from and would
  supersede crisis communications activities.
• IssueAn external or internal factor, usually
  mid- to long-term, that threatens your
  institutions interests, especially those that
  could prove damaging to the institutions
  reputation.

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10 steps to effective crisis planning

• Start now to establish a method for identifying
  and anticipating potential crises.
• Form a crisis response team.
• Include individuals from all key functions.
• The team should be well practiced before handling
  a crisis.
• The team must be empowered and able to respond
  quickly.
• Identify and understand interests of target
  audiences.
• Establish and maintain open lines of
  communication between team members, spokesperson,
  Lab management, and audiences (internal and
  external).
• Work with the media, not against them.
• Realize that appearance and tone are important.

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10 steps to effective crisis planning

• Identify a central spokesperson during a crisis
  it is vital that the institution or organization
  speak with and through a single voice.
• Be watchful for and mindful of the emotional
  response intellectual arguments are worthless in
  the face of public anger.
• Control the information stay in front of the
  release of factsdont be reactive.
• Constantly evaluate your messages and feedback.
  Dont fear a rapidly changing situation change
  tactics when necessary.

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Avoid the common failure patterns

• Mismanaging the victim dimension It is the
  treatment of victims that maintains or destroys
  trust and reputation.
• Failing to involve the boss For any crisis
  response to succeed, the boss or someone the boss
  trusts must be involved from the very beginning
  of the planning process.
• The presumption of readiness A 2003 study by
  Guardsmark, a security consulting firm, estimated
  that 75 percent of American businesses are
  significantly under prepared for a crisis or
  serious emergency.

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Avoid the common failure patterns

• Over-generalized planning Crisis prevention and
  response require scenario-based approaches -
  picking specific potential problems and working
  them through using a highly organized approach.
• Failing to recognize that crises are truly
  different Failure occurs when serious problems
  are treated as normal course of business.

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Beware of revisionist history

• Sooner or later you will have to answer these
  basic questions
• What did you know, and when did you know it?
• What did you do, and when did you do it?

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Crisis during emergencies

• Deal with the problemNOW
• Tend to the victims
• Deal with employees
• Manage those indirectly involved
• Deal with the criticsThe self appointed self
  anointed

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Crisis communications rules

• OPENNESS
• Availability and willingness to respond
• TRUTHFULLNESS
• Unconditional honesty is the only policy
• RESPONSIVENESS
• Recognize that all concerns are by definition
  legitimate and must be addressed.
• TRANSPARENCY
• No secrets behavior and attitude must be beyond
  reproach
• ENGAGEMENT
• Actively seek out and contact those with
  concerns

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Profiles in Jello

• The seven mistakes managers make in a crisis
• DENIAL
• VICTIM CONFUSION
• TESTOSTERONE POISONING
• FEAR OF THE MEDIA
• ARROGANCE
• SEARCH FOR THE GUILTY
• INDECISION