I have worked with Helen Palmer on ‘Green Space Dark Skies’ and Walk the Plank and I was delighted when she asked me to send a quote for a ‘Crisis Comms’ article she wanted to write for Arts Professional.

I wanted to share it here as it is a really useful debrief of why it is essential to have a crisis comms plan in place.

“When the proverbial hits the fan, how prepared are you to handle the public messaging? Helen Palmer shares her experience of crisis communications planning and offers useful advice for yours.”

“Years ago, I sat on a panel alongside a leading disaster communications expert – Donald Steel – and subsequently participated in his crisis communications workshop. What I learned was that no matter the size, scale and severity of the crisis, or the sector, the same principles apply.

How an organisation deals with a crisis relies on the quality of its advance planning, appropriate messaging for audiences including stakeholders, identifying the best-trained media spokesperson, and managing communications protocols and processes. Crisis, what crisis?”

Read the full article here