Fundamentals of Crisis Communication · Fundamentals of Crisis Communication ... ‣ Dr. Vincent Covello ... ‣ Message Mapping. 95% Rule 95% of all questions and concerns

Fundamentals of Crisis Communication Focusing on Effective Techniques & Building Trust

Presented by

Kelly Huston Deputy Director, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services

Joint Information Systems &

Joint Information Center (JIC)

State FedsCity County

Police Fire

Joint Information System

On the same page

Your name here

SchoolsPublic Works

Animal Services

Health Dept

MilitaryPrivate Industry

AirportsTransitHospitals

What’s the purpose?

It allows you to...

‣ Get the RIGHT information

‣ to the RIGHT people

‣ at the RIGHT time

‣ so they can make the RIGHT decisions and act

Benefits‣ Consistent messaging

‣ Central working facility

‣ Single, recognized source for official info

‣ Enhanced information sharing

‣ Pooled resources (staff and equipment)

‣ Coordinated delivery of the message

Joint Information System

Field PIO

Incident Command

Emergency Operations Center

News Organizations

JOINT INFORMATION

CENTER

JIC StructureIncident Commander

EOC Director

Lead Information Officer

Information Gathering & Production Group

Information Dissemination Group Field Information Group

EOC / ICP

Research & Writing

Audio Visual

Info Analysis

Media Monitoring

Internal Dissemination

Media & Rapid Response

Briefing

Media Telephone

Online / Social Media

Field Media

V.I.P. Handlers

Special Interest Groups

Team Exercise

‣ You are the Boston Police Department Public Information Officers

‣ What is the first thing you will do?

‣ What information does the public need to know in the first hour?

‣ How will you accomplish it?

You are here.

Art

Skills arising from the exercise of intuitive faculties

(and common sense)

Science

Expertness or exactness regarded as the result of knowledge of

laws and principles

There’s no one-way manual

What Happened Here?

Anatomy of a Crisis

‣ Complexity of the situation

‣ High stress on all involved

‣ Need for preparation & practice

‣ Need for focus

Impact on the Public

‣ “Normal” life interrupted

‣ Concern for safety of loved ones, themselves

‣ Confusion and fear

‣ Looking for leadership and support

Leadership

Public’s Expectations

20 years ago 24 hours 10 years ago 4 hours Today 4 minutes

Speed of Info Flow Through the Media

2012 Global Customer Service Barometer - American Express | http://about.americanexpress.com/news/docs/2012x/axp_2012gcsb_markets.pdf

http://about.americanexpress.com/news/docs/2012x/axp_2012gcsb_markets.pdf

Risk & Crisis Communication

Risk Communication: Key Concepts

‣ Over 8000 articles in peer reviewed journals, over 2,000 books and major survey reviews of the field

‣ Dr. Vincent CovelloCenter for Change/Risk Communication


‣ Risk communication is a science-based discipline

‣ High concern situations change the rules of communication

‣ The key to success is Anticipation, Preparation and Practice (APP)

3 Goals of Risk Communication

‣ Inform people to be able to make knowledgeable decisions

‣ Build trust and credibility

‣ Persuade & convince, appropriate to what we know

Why?

When people are stressed or concerned

‣ Want to know that you care before they care what you know

‣ Have difficulty hearing, understanding, and remembering information

‣ Focus most on what they hear first and last


‣ People focus much more on negative information

‣ Process information well below their grade level (AGL-4)

‣ Actively seek out additional sources to reduce risk

‣ “Four Hit Theory” of belief formation

Four Hit Theory of Belief Formation

‣ Once formed, a belief is difficult or impossible to change

‣ Four (on average) unanswered credible hits makes a belief

‣ Less than four hits is still opinion

‣ A hit from one side can be negated by a hit from the other side

Mental Noise

Your brain’s ability on a good day

During high stress or concern

80%20%

Mental noise can reduce the ability to process information by up to 80%

What factors build trust during a crisis?

Trust Determination Model

‣ Competence & Expertise

‣ Honesty & Openness

‣ Listening, Caring, Compassion, Empathy

‣ Other Factors

The Determinants of Trust and Credibility in Environmental Risk Communication: An Empirical Study Richard G. Peters, Vincent T. Covello, David B. McCallum - Risk Analysis, 1997

Trust Determination Model

What factors build trust during a crisis?

Competence & ExpertiseHonesty / OpennessListening / Caring / Empathy / CompassionAll Other Factors

Determination in first 9-30

seconds

Communication Tools

‣ 95% Rule ‣ Rule of 3 ‣ CCO ‣ 27/9/3 ‣ IDK

‣ 1N=3P ‣ AGL-4 ‣ Primacy/Recency ‣ Message Mapping

95% Rule

95% of all questions and concerns that will be raised by any stakeholder (the press)

in any controversy (crisis) can be predicted in advance.

!

Implications?

77 Questions

www.ProCommunicator.com/Pennsylvania

http://www.procommunicator.com/Pennsylvania

3

Rule of 3

Low Stress Brain can hold on average 7

High Stress Brain can hold on average

Messages

Messages

George A. Miller (Department of Psychology, Princeton University) The Psychological Review, 1956, vol. 63, pp. 81-97

27/9/3

27/9/3

‣ 27 Words ‣ 9 Seconds ‣ 3 Messages ‣ This is what your audience can

successfully process

Simple Declarative Statements

Message MapStakeholder

Question or Concern

Key Message/Fact

1Keywords or

Supporting Fact 1.1

Key Message/Fact

2Key Message/Fact

3

Keywords or Supporting Fact 1.2








27/9/3

Message MapStakeholder Question or Concern

Key Message/Fact #1


Key Message/Fact #2 Key Message/Fact #3









9/11/01 I’m scared. What is happening now?

Highest Levels

President

Military

Safe as possible

Doing Everything We Can

NYPD

Other Agencies

Safe as possible

You’re not alone

People suffering with you

Help

Support

Listen Again: 27/9/3

Message Map ExerciseStakeholder Question or Concern

Key Message/Fact #1


Key Message/Fact #2 Key Message/Fact #3









C C O

C C O

‣Compassion and show empathy

‣Conviction that you and your team can do the job

‣Optimism tempered by reality

C C O

Quickly Establishes You as the Go-To Place for Information

Dr. Vincent Covello Center for Risk Communication

IDK: I don’t know

IDK

IDK: I Don’t Know

‣ It is okay not to have the answer

‣ Do not risk your credibility by creating an answer

‣ Avoid speculating (why?)

Guiliani Using IDK

IDK Template‣ Say you don’t know (or can’t answer)

‣ Give the reason why you don’t know

‣ Indicate follow-up with a deadline

‣ Bridge to what you can say, such as your core messages

The Communication Flow

Hurricane Rita & General Honore

Considerations?

‣ Who was the General talking to?

‣ What were his key messages?

‣ Was he effective?

‣ What does the affected public need?


Public, families, critics, supporters, colleagues,

naïve folks, etc.

Remember who you’re really

talking to when you do an

interview or go on camera.


Public Official (that’s you!)

news media

Kelly Huston !

[email protected] [email protected]

www.ProCommunicator.com/workshop

Documents

Fundamentals of Crisis Communication · Fundamentals of Crisis Communication ... ‣ Dr. Vincent Covello ... ‣ Message Mapping. 95% Rule 95% of all questions and concerns