School officials often say the wrong thing to the media. Media Training expert Gerard Braud outlines the 29 secrets you need to know before you open your mouth to a reporter. Learn more and order your copy of Don’t Talk to the Media at http://www.donttalktothemedia.com/
Don’t Talk to the Media – Gerard Braud – Media Training for School Officials
April 21, 2010 Leave a Comment
Tweet Heard ‘Round the World – Social Media & Crisis Communications
January 14, 2010 Leave a Comment
January 15, 2009 generated the Tweet Heard ‘Round the World, as a TwitPic became the first official news coverage of an airplane landing in the Hudson River.
We’ll discuss this game changer and the changing face of crisis communications in a special teleseminar called, “Social Media When It Hits the Fan.”
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
11 a.m. CST
Registration $99
($79 for BraudCast subscribers with discount code)
(FREE to Braud Crisis Communications Plan users with discount code)
Warning: I’m very harsh on how Social Media is used as an outgoing communications tool. I’ll also dig deep into what your leaders don’t understand about Social Media’s negative impact in a crisis.
Who should attend: Public Relations & Communications Teams, Risk Managers, Emergency Operations Teams, Human Resource Teams, Security Teams
Suggestion: Listen as a team, then schedule a one hour meeting of your teams to discuss what you heard and how it will change your internal and external procedures.
School Crisis Plan – 2009 Lost Opportunity
January 13, 2010 Leave a Comment
As we look back at the sins of 2009 and ways to redeem yourself in 2010, today’s lesson is about how to be opportunistic.
Opportunistic means you take advantage of a situation to get what you want. Maybe it is because I grew up in a large family and had to fight my 3 older brothers and a younger sister for everything I got, but being opportunistic has served me well in life.
Being opportunistic means that when you observe a situation, you use the power of persuasion, supported by a business case, to convince your boss to let you do what needs to be done, even if you’ve previously been told “no,” as we discussed yesterday.
You can apply this technique to many of your communications needs, but since I write crisis communications plans and teach media training, I’ll share with you a real life example of a HUGE opportunity that passed many people by in 2009.
Every year I get a wave of inquiries from people who want me to help them write their crisis communications plan, and most want a package, complete with a crisis communications drill and train their spokespeople. Many of the inquiries come this time of year because so many people these items on a list of goals and tasks to complete for the coming years. But many of those plans didn’t get written in 2009 because people were told “no, there’s no money in the budget.”
Then in April 2009, the Swine Flu epidemic began. This crisis presented a huge opportunity for you to go back to your boss, paint a grim picture, explain the potential negative impact the Swine Flu could have on your businesses, and get the funding you need.
Another way to be opportunistic is to get help from other departments. Pandemics are a huge concern for risk managers and human resource managers. In every risk management and human resources seminar, there are classes that focus on dealing with pandemics. This is a big issue for them. That means that if you are opportunistic, you can partner with those other managers to convince leadership that a crisis communications plan is an important element of risk management and employee communications.
Most of you who subscribe to the BraudCast are in internal communications, external communications, media relations, PR and marketing. And many folks in these fields are, by their very nature timid, and often take “no” as a final answer. I’d suggest that for 2010 you set as one of your goals to become opportunistic.
Look at it this way… In the case of the Swine Flu, workers would get sick, workers might die, productivity, production and sales could suffer… and you’d be called upon, likely at the last minute, to start crafting both a strategy and messages to deal with the impending crisis. That’s not really fair to you, is it? Especially if there is a solution, namely a pre-written crisis communications plan with pre-written templates. And if you already have a plan, you know it needs to update and tested. I have one client who is so opportunistic that I help him conduct 4 crisis communications drills every year.
So if you know in your heart that being prepared is the right thing to do professionally… then the answer is, being opportunistic is also the right thing to do professionally. If you achieve your goal and still do it legally and ethically, there is nothing wrong with being opportunistic.
Timing is critical when you are trying to be opportunistic. You have to be ready build a business case immediately after a crisis begins and present it to leadership while the crisis is still fresh in their minds. It doesn’t matter if the crisis is where you work or if it is a high profile crisis in the news. I can tell you from experience that each day that you get further from the crisis, the more likely leadership is to forget the trauma and devalue your proposal.
If your 2009 sin was a missed opportunity, your redemption in 2010 is setting a goal to be more opportunistic.
Tomorrow, we’ll talk about Shinny New Objects.
And…
1) If you’d like to sign up FREE for the audio version of this, known as the BraudCast, click here.
2) For a FREE sample listen, this is your link.
3) Sign up for the upcoming teleseminar “Social Media When It Hits the Fan.”
School Emergency Communications & School NIMS Plan Misinformation Alert: Media Training & Crisis Communications Plans & More from Gerard Braud
September 11, 2009 Leave a Comment
Big warning on the BraudCast today.
Big warning as we commemorate September 11th.
Big warning as we remember August 29th, the recent anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Big warning as your kids go back to school.
Big warning for all executives.
Big warning for everyone in public relations.
Why all the warnings?
After September 11th and Hurricane Katrina the Federal government launched a massive emergency communications effort. However, these efforts have little, or anything, to do with PR people communicating with the media, employees and other key stakeholders.
The reason I issue the warning is that many schools, government agencies, hospitals and companies are not doing what they are supposed to be doing… and many executives, government leaders, hospital administrators and school leaders think they now have all the communications tools they need.
They are so wrong.
All of these emergency communications efforts deal with the radio systems that allow first responders to talk with one another during a crisis. RADIO SYSTEMS.
They have nothing to do with communicating the written and spoken word with your core audiences.
Many school systems and many law enforcement agencies around the country spent the summer rolling out what are known as NIMS Emergency Plans. In the program, government buildings and school buildings have all been given special numbers to identify them during an emergency.
One PR person recently told me her boss said he no longer needed Media Training because if there was a disaster, the FBI would be their spokesperson. Another executive stopped a PR department from working on their Crisis Communications Plan because they were part of the new Federal Emergency Communications System.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
It frightens me what executives know, what they think they know, what they don’t know, and what they don’t know they don’t know.
For clarification, yes, executives and administrators still need Media Training because in a crisis, they still need to talk to the media, employees and other key audiences. In schools, that means the training needs to include talking with students, parents, faculty and staff. In a hospital it means talking with patients and their families. In a company it means talking with customers as well as the media and employees.
If your event involves first responders, they DO NOT become your spokesperson. Their interest is different than your interest. If a Joint Information Command is set up for news conferences, your spokespeople talk about what you know, while the responders and law enforcement talk about what they know.
Additionally, every organization needs its own Crisis Communications Plan in addition to any NIMS plan, Incident Command plan or Emergency Operations Plan. Those plans ONLY coordinate responders arriving in a timely manner and talking to one another through secure radio systems. They DO NOT include instructions for your written and spoken communications to your audiences. They DO NOT include all of the dozens of pre-written news releases that your crisis communications plan should contain.
I’ve posted new resources in the definitions section of 2 websites, including:
www.crisiscommunicationsplans.com and www.schoolcrisisplan.com
Please forward these to your leadership to educate them.
Please forward the link to the podcast to educate them.
As you can tell, I’m passionate about this and I’m concerned about the misinformation and misconceptions that is out there. Your own Media Training and your own Crisis Communications Plan can save lives through communications prior to a natural disaster, such as communicating evacuations for a hurricane… and during a crisis, such as a school shooting or workplace violence event. You would be using your written and spoken communications skills long before first responders even get involved, while responders are on the scene, and long after they have left the scene.
Here’s today’s call to action. Meet with your leaders and discuss this with them. If your leadership won’t listen to you, I’ll be happy to talk with and explain it. I’m also happy to speak to any association conventions where your leaders may be in the audience. As PR professionals we need to stick together on this and educate our leaders and executives. I’ve updated my website at www.braudcommunications.com with a new keynote called Leadership When “It” Hits the Fan, specifically designed to address some of these issues.
Let’s work on this together. After all, it is our job as strategic communications professionals.
Columbine & Virginia Tech & USA Today
April 27, 2009 Leave a Comment
With the recent anniversaries of Columbine & Virginia Tech, USA Today observed that much progress has been made in crisis readiness.
I wrote a letter, published today, that points out the big gap is still the lack of a good crisis communications plan at most schools and universities. Crisis Communications Plans at schools and universities are still inadequate.
Just last week, the school where my wife works, completed a government funded program for emergency readiness. After months of work in our Parish (county) the program says little about communications during a crisis. As for media relations, it simply says, “designate a spokesperson.”
A good crisis communications plan fills in the gap for all that is needed to:
1) Anticipate all the many sudden and smoldering crisis you could face. This is called a vulnerability assessment. Chances are that government program doesn’t even address the many smoldering crises.
2) Writes out exactly the behavior leaders and communicators must demonstrate and the steps they must take to communicate. Most government programs only handle the emergency. When it comes to communications they just wing it.
3) Contains 50-75-100 pre-written templates that can quickly be converted to news releases, e-mails and web postings. It can be written on a clear sunny day. You don’t have to wait until the day of a crisis to write. If you wait until the day of the crisis, valuable time is lost. Remember, at Virginia Tech the first notification about the 7:15 a.m. murders went out at 9:26 a.m., which was 15 minutes after the gunman began his second assault.
School Crisis — Who will reporters talk to?
October 2, 2008 Leave a Comment
Crisis Communications Plans are designed to help companies communicate quickly. When there is a crisis at your school, who will reporters interview?
You should listen to all of the Gerard Braud audio program, “Don’t Talk to the Media.” Lesson 11 specifically addresses this controversial topic in a segment he calls, “Why Do Reporters Always Interview People With No Teeth Who Live in Trailers?”
Write Your Own Crisis Communications Plan in Just 2 Days
September 29, 2008 Leave a Comment
By Gerard Braud
Yes, it is true. I do have a system that lets you write and complete your crisis communications plan in only 2 days.
I’ll be hosting a 2 day program here in New Orleans on November 3-4, 2008.
If you are unable to make these dates, I can host a private or group program in your town. Just send an e-mail to me at gerard@braudcommunications.com Please put Crisis Communications in the subject line.
More details are available at these websites: www.schoolcrisisplan.com and www.crisiscommunicationsplans.com
Crisis Communications & Hurricane Gustav
September 3, 2008 Leave a Comment
Crisis Communications for a University or School is critical during a hurricane, such as Hurricane Gustav.
I’m shocked, however, at how poorly LSU is communicating with students. Baton Rouge is devastated by the storm, power is out and phone lines are down. Let’s share a few lessons from LSU in the hopes that your school or university can learn from their actions.
LSU, the 2008 National College Football Champions and the flagship school of Louisiana continues to be on my list that rhymes with hit but starts with an “s”. Daddy Gerard Braud has a daughter at LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Power will not be fully restored to Baton Rouge for 2-3 weeks. While the LSU website does have updates, the updates are slow in coming and cannot be seen by many of the 30,000 students because the students do NOT have electricity and internet access.
Furthermore, the LSU website says that if you do not have internet access, you can call a special phone number for updates. Problem one is students canNOT see the phone number because they do not have access to the web. Problem two is because phone lines are down, cell phone towers are down and phone circuits are over loaded, students are not able to call the LSU phone number to find out when classes resume or what emergency support is available to them.
I sent an e-mail to the school suggesting that they use their text messaging system to communicate with students. My daughter, who signed up for the emergency text messaging system, has yet to receive a single text message. This angers me, since in December of 2007 LSU had a double shooting on campus and their text messaging system failed then. It appears LSU still 1) has not worked out the kinks, 2) fails to use it, and/or 3) has failed to run an active campaign to get students signed up for the system. I give LSU the “Ray Nagin Leadership in Communications Award.”
Hats off to little Cedarwood School in Mandeville, Louisiana. They used their text messaging system early to inform parents of the school closure for the hurricane, they’ve updated their website on a regular basis, and they are using their text messaging system now and also using their website to inform parents about when the school will reopen. To my wife and Cedarwood School COO, the lovely and talented Cindy Braud, I give the, “Aren’t You glad You Married Me and We’re in This Disaster Together Despite My Many Other Faults” Award.
(If you are with a school or university and you are reading this, there are more free resources at:www.schoolcrisisplan.com )
Recap of the above is that high tech does not always beat low tech. Don’t be foolish. Make sure you have multiple systems for reaching your students and parents. And, make sure that like LSU, you don’t use your website to give people an emergency phone number that they can neither see nor reach.
Next, please make sure you practice “Crisis Communications in the Dark Ages.” There are many people in the disaster zones right now who have no power and therefore, no telephone. Their phone lines may still work to their homes, but because they only have cordless phones, the phones at their offices and homes do NOT work. Make sure you have an old style “slim line” style phone that plugs into a simple phone jack without having to be plugged into electricity. I have a great DVD set that covers much of this information. It is available for purchase at: www.braudcasting.com/DVDs.html
Also, many people in the disaster zones and evacuations zones cannot make a phone call on their cell phones. Some cannot because circuits are overloaded, or cell towers are down, or because they do not have a phone charger for their car. The two most important cell phone tips I have for you are to always carry a car charger with you and to PLEASE learn to text message. My daughter in Baton Rouge cannot make phone calls nor can she receive phone calls, but we are in constant communications because we can text message one another. Text messaging works when most other forms of communications fail.
Finally, every disaster is a great time to review your own crisis communications plan and crisis communications tools. Do it now. You may never face a hurricane, but you will face some other disaster of nature or man. The philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Even Karl Marx noted that, “History repeats itself first as tragedy and secondly as farce.”
I’m glad to say that in the case of Hurricane Gustav, many in my areas did not repeat the farce of Hurricane Katrina and many did not repeat the problems of the past. However, there is still room for improvement.
Yours safely evacuated to Florida,
Gerard Braud (Jared Bro)
For more free resources on crisis communications and media relations, please visit:
