Crisis Leadership and Crisis Communication

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Crisis Leadership and Crisis Communication

• Andrew Blum, Ph.D
• ICONS Project
• Center for International Development and Conflict
  Management
• University of Maryland

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Learning Objectives

• Understand the nature of a crisis.
• Understand impact of a crisis on individuals and
  how it effects communication
• Learn tools for managing and communicating
  information in a crisis.

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Crisis A working definition

• Definition of crisis is subjective, based on
  perception of
• threat to one or more of an individuals or
  organizations basic values or missions,
• finite time to make decisions and take action,
  and
• lack of standard operating procedures or
  inability to implement SOP to address the
  situation

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Crisis DynamicsResults from ICB Project

• Elite process
• High levels of stress
• Reliance on cognitive shortcuts (analogies,
  stereotypes)
• Tendency to forget the rules
• Awareness of different audiences than normal,
  public, media, etc.

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The Impact of Crisis on Individuals
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The Physiology of Stress

• Stress reactions are involuntary
• Perception of threat triggers both neural and
  hormonal reactions

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Our Bodys Design

• Our bodies are designed to help us survive.
• Crisis lion is near
• Bodys reaction
• send blood to
• muscle groups
• and RUN!

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Awareness of Stages of Stress

• Alarm
• Adaptive/Resistance
• Exhaustion

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Intense or Prolonged Stress

• Leads to
• Difficulty thinking clearly
• Dwelling on meaningless activities
• Tunnel vision
• Expressing hostility or numbness
• Impulsiveness
• Feeling incompetent
• Reduced ability to retain information

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Mental Noise Theory

• When under stress, our cognitive ability is
  decreased significantly. Message retention falls
  by 80 or more. We cope by
• Reducing complexity
• Acting on current beliefs
• Seeking analogies
• Blocking new information

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Expertise versus Empathy

• Low Stress Message recipients focus on
  competence and expertise.

• High Stress Message recipients focus on honesty
  and empathy

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Keep Messages Simple

• No more than three messages
• No more than ten seconds each
• No more than 30 words
• And then keep repeating these three messages. . .
• Famous Example STOP! DROP! ROLL!

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Example Mayor Giuliani on 9/11

• 1) If youre below Canal St. Stay calm and walk
  north. . .
• 2) And the end result is going to be some
  horrendous number of lives lost
• 3) Right now we just have to focus on saving as
  many people as possible.

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Examples from USFS

• "Please do not feed wildlife. Animals that get
  food from people may become aggressive. Our foods
  may harm an animal's digestive system or even
  cause them death."
• "NIICD will purchase only multimode digital
  radios in the future. Analog radios will be
  replaced during normal replacement cycles.
  Contact Steve Jenkins for more information.

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BE PREPARED!

• Virtually all concerns and questions for any
  crisis can be predicted in advance.
• Prepare your messages to respond to these
  concerns in advance. Message mapping is one
  useful tool.

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Five Keys to Effective Communication in a Crisis

• Clarity
• Repetition
• Honesty
• Empathy
• Efficacy (Give them something to do)

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• Why clarity? Why repetition?
• - Because people are stressed.

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• Why Empathy?
• - Because people are afraid or angry.

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• Why honesty?
• - Because there is a threat.
• - Because you need to build trust.

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• Why efficacy?
• - Because action is the antidote to fear.