Get crisis ready in 2024

Under Pressure 13 October 2023

Kick start your crisis training in 2024

Keeping your crisis communication skills up-to-date is important for all PR and communication professionals. You never know when you will face the biggest test of your career. The daily demands can take us away from focusing on our own development and longer term issues.

Crisis communication needs to be a regular part of our training and development. It ensures that we are match ready for the moment that we have to put the plans into action and make the most challenging decisions of our lives.

I have developed a comprehensive programme of training to cover all aspects of crisis communication and to tackle the issues that people told me they were concerned with. The recent training survey highlighted that people want a range of training including a full and half day as well as the two hour issue focused sessions. This has been taken into account for the 2024 programme.

New sessions for 2024 look at influencing to get results in a crisis, disaster and emergency communication and internal communication in a crisis.

In the first six months of 2024 there are four training opportunities. A full day session will provide a comprehensive crisis communication overview with case studies from recent events. A half day session will focus specifically on the issues affecting crisis communication in the next 12 months. And there are two webinar sessions one on influencing to get results and the second the popular crisis communication exercise.

The full programme is detailed below and there are early bird prices for anyone booking before the 1 January 2024. For more details or to book a space email amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk

New research on social media use during wildfires

This year there have been some significant wildfire incidents that have put the focus on communication and what is needed to protect lives and ensure help is in place. In new research from a professor at the University of Notre Dame questions the approach that is taken to social media communication. One of the key findings looks at the approach that needs to be taken to ensure engagement when in the recovery phase. Report author Alfonso Pedraza-Martinez said: “In the current recovery phase, state and local social media accounts should target different audiences including donors and victims, as opposed to addressing the same audience simultaneously.”

Read more about the study here.

Crisis coaching

Having the right mindset when you face a crisis is vital to help with decision making and being resilient. Amanda is now offering crisis communication coaching to help people be ready to face the most challenging of situations. Using her years of experience, she will help with issues of confidence, improving decision making, managing the impact and being able to deal with uncertainty. Sessions can be a one off or for a series of sessions. If you are concerned about to deal with a crisis, or are facing a challenging time ahead, get in touch to discuss what support is available. Email amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk

In Brief:

• Newsweek has given eight phrases to avoid when communicating during a crisis. I can add ‘you can be reassured’ and ‘we will learn the lessons’. Have a look at what it includes and let me know those phrases you think should be avoided when a crisis happens. Read the article here.

• The latest Testing Times has been published. The October edition looks back at the issue of faulty concrete that caused many schools to be closed just as they were due to start the new school year. To receive a copy email amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk

• Managing the reputational damage caused by a data breach is covered in a recent online article on the Information Week website. Find out what the issues are and how to limit the impact here.

• There is a shocking situation that has been highlighted in Nigeria where a complaint on social media led to the person being arrested. Find out what happened and why in an article on the website Opinion Nigeria here.

• In a recent Boss Magazine article the importance of internal communication or communicating with ‘members’ as it is termed during a crisis is highlighted. Find out more here.

• The website HR Director gives some tips on how to communicate in high pressure situations. Some of the points are helpful to anyone facing communication when a crisis happens. Find out more here.

• In a recent blog Amanda considers how crisis communication and business continuity need to work together for an effective response. It followed severe weather conditions in Scotland over the weekend. Find out more here.

• The 2023 Edelman report on the Future of Corporate Communications has been published. Find out the details here.

• Congratulations to former #10minswith guest Advita Patel who has been announced as the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) President Elect for 2025.

Diary Dates:

• For anyone working in public sector communications, on 19 October Amanda is running a lunch and learn session for Westco Communication. The session looks at emergency communication and what to do to be prepared. Find out more here.

• Amanda is discussing crisis messaging at the Emergency Planning Society conference on 7 November 2023. It is the 30th anniversary of the EPS and Amanda is delighted to be part of the conference. Find out more here.

• Developing Engaging Content for those in the public sector will be the subject of the PRCA webinar run by Amanda on 9 November 2023. Find out more here.

• Amanda’s final training session for 2023 takes place on 15 November at 2pm. The session will consider how to develop a crisis communication strategy. There are just two spaces left so email amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk if you would like to join the session.