Speaking with confidence

1. Speaking with confidence Techniques for the effective spokesperson

2. Today’s Goals • Staying on message • Handling tough questions • Maintaining control over story content • Avoiding misquotes • Understanding soundbites • Communicating in a crisis

3. 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 ...

4. Resources http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/MediaGuide.pdf The Crisis Store — James Lucaszewski http://www.e911.com/

5. A Favorite Interview

6. Media in the Information Age • We find ourselves at a crossroads • Journalism -- what has become of it? http://www.journalism.org/ • The Internet’s effect on the practice • Radical ideas

7. New Delivery Systems • Weblogs • e-Papers • Broadcast web

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

9. Feeling hopeless? • All is not lost • Our jobs are just harder • Preparation is the key

10. New Communication Techniques • Managing expectations • Making communications a process • Communication planning • Key Consent Factors • Messaging — The Triangle

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12. Working with a message triangle

13. Working with a message triangle Key Message Point ｧProof Point—where possible, incorporate throughout your message triangle such messageenhancers as specific examples; meaningful statistics; analogies, metaphors & similes; the “Three Cs”” (colorful words, clichés, contemporary references); one-liners, personal experience; quotes from experts—or your opposition Proof Point Proof Point Subsidiary bullet Subsidiary bullet Proof Point MAIN MESSAGE (TYPICALLY UNSTATED)

14. Working with a message triangle

15. 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

16. Working with a message triangle

17. Reduced performance anxiety • Stagecraft • Rehearsal • Simplicity • Brevity • Enthusiasm • Accuracy

18. 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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20. Crisis Communications • What is a crisis? • Anticipating versus reacting

21. 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 anticipated—and potentially prevented from ever becoming a crisis in the first place.

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

23. 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.

24. 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 facts—don’t be reactive. • Constantly evaluate your messages and feedback. Don’t fear a rapidly changing situation; change tactics when necessary.

25. 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.

26. 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.”

27. 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?

28. Crisis during emergencies • Deal with the problem—NOW • Tend to the victims • Deal with employees • Manage those indirectly involved • Deal with the critics—The “self appointed self anointed”

29. 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

30. 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