Crisis communications training

Leadership and crisis communication: a one-day course 

Morning session:

The theory of leadership in a crisis. The course will cover:

1. Strategic planning
2. Decision making and action
3. Listening and building the right team
4. Acting on and communicating Values
5. Communicating with empathy
6. Leading a team under pressure
7. Recovery planning

Afternoon session:

Putting the theory into practice

Experience a live simulation breaking, and put some of these theories to the test. Using Polpeo’s simulation platform, delegates will experience managing a crisis as it breaks and spreads over social and digital media. They will feel the pressure of making decisions, leading a team, setting the strategy for the crisis and managing the organisation’s response.

The simulation will stress-test crisis plans and processes, and put the full team through their paces.

A crisis communications masterclass

A two-day course

Day one:

• Principles of crisis communication
  • What is a crisis and what is a routine issue? Knowing when to activate your crisis plan
  • Approaching a crisis: acknowledgement, apology, action
  • Tone and style of communication
  • The currency of crisis: truth, trust, transparency
• Strong leadership in a crisis:
  • Strategic direction
  • Decision making
  • Getting to the facts
  • Action and empathy
• First steps in a crisis
  • The principle of the ‘Golden Hour’
• Handling the media
  • Principles of media relations in a crisis
  • Choosing and training your spokesperson
• Case studies of good and bad crisis communications
• Measuring success

Day two:

• Applying the principles of crisis communication to a social media environment
• Managing social media in a crisis
  • Managing outrage, anger and trolling behaviour
  • Managing the expectation of immediate information
  • Dealing with misinformation and disinformation
  • Dealing with high volumes of posts on social media and the speed at which a crisis escalates
• Building team resilience to manage a crisis successfully
• A live three-hour crisis simulation, using Polpeo’s interactive simulation technology, to put the theory to the test. Delegates will experience managing a crisis as it breaks and spreads over social and digital media. They will feel the pressure of making decisions, leading a team, setting the strategy for the crisis and managing the organisation’s response. The simulation will stress-test crisis plans and processes, and put the full team through their paces.