Crisis Communication

Framework

IRON LAW: Respond in the Golden Hour

The first public response must come within 1 hour of the crisis becoming
public. Silence creates a vacuum that others fill with speculation.
A holding statement ("We are aware and investigating") is better than
no statement. Perfection is the enemy of timeliness.

Three Phases

1. Prevention (before crisis)

• Identify potential crises (risk inventory)
• Prepare holding statements and spokesperson training
• Establish a crisis team with clear roles
• Monitor media and social channels

2. Response (during crisis)

• Activate crisis team
• Issue holding statement immediately
• Gather facts rapidly
• Issue full statement using 3C framework:
  • Concern: Show empathy for affected parties
  • Commitment: State what you're doing about it
  • Control: Demonstrate you're managing the situation

3. Recovery (after crisis)

• Assess damage and lessons learned
• Implement corrective actions
• Rebuild stakeholder trust through actions (not just words)
• Update crisis plan based on learnings

SCCT (Situational Crisis Communication Theory)

Crisis Type	Attribution of Blame	Response Strategy
Victim (natural disaster, rumor)	Low — organization is also a victim	Deny / Diminish
Accidental (technical error, product defect)	Medium — unintentional	Diminish / Rebuild
Preventable (human error, organizational failure)	High — could have been avoided	Rebuild (full apology + corrective action)

Crisis Statement Template

[Concern] We are deeply concerned about [specific situation] and our
thoughts are with [affected parties].

[Facts] Here is what we know: [factual summary, no speculation].

[Commitment] We are taking the following immediate actions:
1. [Action 1]
2. [Action 2]

[Control] We have activated [response team/process] and will provide
updates [frequency and channel].

[Contact] For questions, contact [spokesperson, channel].

Output Format

# Crisis Response Plan: {Situation}

## Crisis Assessment
- Type: Victim / Accidental / Preventable
- Severity: Low / Medium / High
- Stakeholders affected: {list}
- Media attention level: {current state}

## Immediate Response (< 1 hour)
- Holding statement: {draft}
- Spokesperson: {who}
- Internal notification: {who needs to know}

## Full Response (< 24 hours)
- Full statement: {draft using 3C framework}
- Key messages (3 max): ...
- Channel strategy: {where to publish}
- Q&A preparation: {anticipated questions + answers}

## Recovery Plan
- Corrective actions: ...
- Trust-rebuilding steps: ...
- Timeline: ...

Gotchas

• Never lie or speculate: If you don't know, say "We are investigating." A wrong fact in a crisis statement becomes the next crisis.
• Social media accelerates everything: A crisis that would have taken days to develop in 2010 takes hours in 2025. Speed of response must match speed of spread.
• Internal communication first: Employees should hear from you before they hear from the media. Issue internal statement before or simultaneously with external.
• Apology requires specificity: "We're sorry if anyone was offended" is not an apology. "We apologize for [specific action] that caused [specific harm]" is.
• Legal vs PR tension: Legal team wants to say nothing (liability). PR team wants to say everything (trust). The right answer is usually: acknowledge facts, show empathy, commit to action — without admitting legal liability prematurely.

References

• For social media crisis response playbook, see references/social-crisis.md