Crisis Communications Andy A 1.7

March 11, 2011
Crisis Communications © Andrew M. Amalﬁtano Photo by Paul Aiken / The Boulder Camera

Boulder County Incident Management Team Conference
17 March 2011

© Andrew M. Amalﬁtano, AmalﬁCORE, LLC

Part I.  Introduction Part II.  Guiding Principles
  Focus   IC Perspective
  Scope   Safety
  Session Objectives   Accuracy
  Confidentiality *1
  Taking Care of ‘Us’

Part III.  Fundamentals Part IV. Effective Techniques
  State of Being   IC Perspectives
  Know Your Audience   Basic Tips
*3
  What They Already Know   ‘Tools’ of the Trade
  Fill the Need   Behaviors and Actions *4
  Make a Plan   What to Say and Not to Say
  On‐Scene *2

Part V.  Wrap UP ‘AAR’
  Take Aways
  References
Crisis Communications   © Andrew M. Amalfitano

  Managing communications between
ourselves, our family, citizens, curious press,
and other agencies.
  Useful tips on ‘what to say’ and ‘not say’ and
helpful techniques for keeping people
informed.
  Out of Scope: Not PIO training
and it's not about radios.

At the end of this session participants will be more familiar with:

1.  The guiding principles of safety, accuracy, and
conﬁdentiality
2.  Managing self‐talk to project a positive attitude
3.  The value of respecting people through dignity,
empathy, and understanding
4.  The role of non‐verbal behavior and communicating a
clear message
5.  Basic fundamentals of crisis communications and
techniques to manage information exchange


“At the end of the day,
as responders we will
be judged not on the
end outcome of the
incident, but on how
we treated people –
whether it be the
public, policy makers,
or other responders…”
Don Whittemore,

Boulder County IMT Incident Commander

Communicating
Urgency

  Safety of Self, Buddy, Team, and Citizens
is our ﬁrst and foremost Objective
  Understand the need and urgency to
communicate
  ‘Sensemaking’

  Choose your words

  Be clear, crisp, and direct

Be vigilant   Ensure that you feel safe
  Observe the individual   Does person need help?
and crowd
  Dialog or not?


Say What you
Mean

  Be honest, empathetic, and understanding
  If you don’t know, say ‘I don’t know’
  If you do know, are you allowed to, should
you say it?
  If you say it, oﬀer accurate, direct information


  Protecting
information,
identities, data

  How to be both
honest and
conﬁdential at the
same time


You need to
evacuate ‐ uh,
NOW!

Managing Homeowners
1.  Name top 5 priorities
2.  Suggest what to say and
not say
3.  List your communication
tips?


Stay
The Buddy informed,
System hydrated,
take breaks,
honor your
required rest
periods


  Recognize how you speak
to yourself, alone, in your
head – Make it Positive

  Recognize stress and deal
with it


Family, Friends, Colleagues ‐
You know them best, Decide best role to help each other


Crisis can cause
confusion and threaten
us to the core

People revert to their
most basic needs when
threatened, unsure,
confused

Reassure with
information

Crisis Communications © Andrew M. Amalﬁtano Channel 7 News, 31—Oct2001

Communication
Skills

  Who’s asking and what should they know?
  Bystanders may be unidentiﬁed press
  Everything may be recorded

Directly
Impacted
Responders
Citizens
Press
Policy


  Curiosity reigns
  What happened to them
  Pre‐conceived notions

  Expectations of what will be done
to ‘ﬁx the problem’
  Inﬂuence of neighbors, family and
friends co‐workers

  Social media helps and hinders
  Volume of information
  Frequency of misinformation
  Speed and reach to wider
audience, more visibility
  ‘Candid‐camera’ – your voice
and image online instantly!

  What happens when someone ﬁnds out bad
news and there is no advocacy?

  People need
information,
people impacted by
a crisis need it more


Remember, as far as the public is concerned, we are
always ‘on‐duty’ and representing the oﬃcial word

Plans are useless,
Planning is essential
Dwight D. Eisenhower
©AmalfiCORE, LLC
Crisis Communications © Andrew M. Amalﬁtano 27

  Consider a Crisis Communications Plan
  Identify the stakeholders and people impacted
  Address their needs and
concerns with IC
direction
  PIO/LOFR‐
Deﬁne SOGs for
communication among
ourselves, other
agencies, and external

  Who is allowed to speak to
who? About what? When?

  Minimize allowed information
while maximizing clear, useful
communication

  What can we prepare in
advance that is generic enough
for most all‐hazard events?

  Crisis communications includes us, too
  Clear explanation and direction to emergency
personnel

  Keep
yourself
informed


Curiosity

Preparing for a Crisis –
  How can you pre‐message an
incident?
  How can you prevent and
control rumors?
  List a few communication tips
for a ﬂood incident


“If we lose a house, but treat the folks with
dignity, respect and empathy,

we will be appreciated more than if we save
the house, but are jerks in the process”
Don Whittemore,
Boulder County IMT Incident Commander

  Communication is the foundation of any
relationship
  Understand appropriate language based on
your audience
  Face, body ‘language’ make a diﬀerence
  Friendly, ﬁrm, ‘minimal‐optimal’
  What’s the least amount I can say that results in
the optimal outcome?

Bad news in a
good way?

  Empathy   trumps Sympathy

  Facts   trump Speculation

  Sincerity   trumps Arrogance

  Directness   trumps Avoidance
  trumps Despair
  Hope


  How you move your body, your
facial expressions, and the tone
of your voice will be
remembered longer than your
words

  Understand
non‐verbal messaging


  Do oﬀer a way for people to feel empowered to
protect themselves and obtain accurate information
  Remain calm

  Don’t let yourself be
pushed into saying
what you don’t want to
say
  Express concern


1.  Deﬁne your priorities
2.  Discuss what to say
and not say
3.  What are your
communication tips?


  Restate facts, set expectations
Danger still exists, residents have been asked to evacuate, we don’t know yet
when it will be contained or when you can return, when we do know the you
will be notified by cell phone, news media, Sheriff

  Refer people to:
  PIO office
  Provide phone number to
hot line/EOC


  Be honest and only oﬀer
approved information
  You can learn from
citizens
  Ask questions and dialog
with an individual
  Possibly learn information
about the incident that IC
may not know


  If you don’t have the answer, say so
  If you do have the answer but can’t give it out, say
so
  Always point people to where they can ﬁnd out
more inform
  Point out the uncertainly of situations with
phrases like “the incident is still evolving” and we
don’t have all the facts yet
  Be honest, but only oﬀer approved and authorized
information


  Don't repeat negative words nor over‐
emphasize or defend
  Never say 'no comment‘
  Don't leave people hanging
  Avoid ‘certain or absolute’ answers until you
really know more information e.g.
  Don’t speak with certainty unless you are
absolutely sure

What not to say:
  Don’t  release personal information.
  Don’t blame, or speculate, or mislead or cover up facts
  Don’t let misinformation pass without comment,
correct it if you know
  Don’t make ‘oﬀ the record’ statements, nothing is
ever ‘oﬀ the record’
  Do not over‐reassure stakeholders of the impact the
crisis will have on them. e.g.

  What are you tips for speaking with / avoiding /
dissuading conversation about incidents?

  When to say ‘sorry I
can’t talk about that’ or
‘I don’t want to talk
about that’
  List ways you take care
of YOU! Who can you
reach out to chat?

  The guiding principles of safety, accuracy, and
conﬁdentiality
  Managing self‐talk to project a positive, conﬁdent
attitude
  The value of respecting people through dignity,
empathy, and understanding
  The role of non‐verbal behavior and communicating
a clear message
  Basic fundamentals of crisis communications and
techniques to manage information exchange


Safety
Accuracy
Conﬁdentiality What are
Make a Plan You’re Take Aways?
Help Each Other
Honesty, Empathy, Sincerity

  Books
  Briese, Noel L. “How to Manage Organizational Communications During a
Crisis”. Anvil Pub. Georgia, 2002
  Ulmer, Robert R., Sellnow, Timothy L., Seeger, Matthew W. “Effective Crisis
Communications‐Moving from Crisis to Opportunity”. Sage Publications,
London , 2007
  Photos:
  Open sources from Google Images, 2001‐2011
  Paul Aiken, Daily Camera, Boulder CO 2010
  Andy Amalfitano, Boulder Emergency Squad
  Quotes:
  Military quote, Dwight D. Eisenhowser, 1945
  IC perspectives: Don Whittemore, Boulder County IMT, 2011
  Video:
  “Human Factors in the Wildland Fire Service”. Bull Run Fire 1996. National
Wildfire Coordinating Group
  Other
  Abraham Maslow, Hierarchy, 1950’s


Crisis Communications Andy A 1.7

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