10 steps to handle communication crisis for professional PR practitioners

How will you handle the media crisis to show whether you are a professional or experienced PR? Therefore, please regularly cultivate to acquire skills to handle communication crisis.

Every organization has the potential to be a media crisis. If you are not prepared, you will suffer a lot of damage. Here are 10 basic steps to a communication crisis.

STEP 1: INHALED, BREEDED, REPEAT
We will have many opportunities to make informed decisions when both we and our team are calm. You are responsible and play the main role. Try to control everything before using help measures. You need to keep yourself calm by breathing in and breathing out.

STEP 2: SCREENING THE CASE AND ALARMING THE ALARM
Before answering to any questions from outside, take the time to:
- Identify all employees who have communication or related to customers in a crisis situation.
- Summarize them what is happening, the actions you will respond to the incident and important instructions to help employees communicate effectively to the outside.
- Please update the situation for the public until there is a specific action plan and an accurate message.

STEP 3: INVESTIGATION WHAT HAPPENED
After you get your spirits up and notify the company internally, it's time to find out. The 4 key questions you need to answer are:
- What happen?
- What do the public think about what happened?
- How did public opinion react to the incident?
- Which media channels need immediate attention?

STEP 4: UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESS IMPACT
Before you react, you need to consider how your decisions will impact your business, sales and brands. This step plays a very important role when you start making decisions about the company's media message and general stance on the crisis.

STEP 5: LISTEN
In the crisis media, you need to gather reliable information that comes with good supervision. Make effective use of PR and social media monitoring tools to capture community response.
- What's going on?
- Are there hundreds of people talking about things or just a few?
- What is the general community response?
- Is the community supporting you?
- Did the media react?
- Have there been any cases posted?

STEP 6: LISTEN TO LISTEN
In crisis communications, you need to collect reliable information with good monitoring. Make effective use of PR and social media monitoring tools to capture community reactions.
- What's going on?
- Are there hundreds of people talking about things or just a few?
- What is the general community response?
- Is the community supporting you?
- Did the media react?
- Have there been any cases posted?

STEP 6: DECISION ON ORGANIZATION OF THE ORGANIZATION AND MESSAGE
After you have mastered the whole story, understanding the impact on business, and the picture of the overall reaction, you will have a clear initiative about the organization's communication message.

STEP 7: MAKE A DECISION ON COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL
After positioning the organization's stance and message, you need to choose a reliable communication channel. When you have finished drafting the message, you need to plan on what bottlenecks the communication management team needs and how.

- Update communication individually or collectively
- Personal inquiries via email or phone
- Send notification email to customers
- Post the announcement on the organization's blog
- Or through press conferences

STEP 8: SPEAKING
Having carefully prepared all the plans, now is the time to deliver your message through your chosen media channel.

STEP 9: TRACKING THE RESPONSE OF THE COMMENT AND RESPONSE WHEN NEEDED
After the message has been released to the outside world, you need to consider the feedback from the customer service team to follow the incident. Has the media crisis really been solved? What happens next depends entirely on the reaction of the media and the community.

Make effective use of PR and social media monitoring tools to capture community responses in real time and take appropriate action.

STEP 10: DRAWING LESSONS LEARNED
After the event is over, acknowledge and learn from experience to avoid future crises and deal more effectively in subsequent crises.