Prepare Now To Communicate Effectively Later: How To Make Sure You're Ready for Bad NewsAsk The Experts, The Detroiter In today's business climate, the old adage "You never know what eachday will bring" is more relevant than ever. You, as a business owner ormanager of any size company, can wake up any morning and find yourselfsuddenly forced to communicate-inside and outside the company-whilefacing an adverse situation. Serious matters might include a death inside a manufacturing plant;employees accused of serious crimes or accusations of racism. Serviceinterruptions, IT snafus or sudden personnel changes can cause problemson a lesser scale. Often, such situations happen without warning. The key: prepare now in case your company is confronted later with "bad news." Identify Key Audiences - Compile a list of contacts,including employees, customers/clients, and media who regularly coveryour industry and update it frequently. If adversity strikes you'llwant to be proactive in communicating to these individuals. Better theword (including how you are rectifying the situation) comes from yourather than a third-party. Establish A Protocol - In an adverse situation, whowill form your crisis team? Be the "face" of your organization?Determine beforehand who will handle everything from how the phones areanswered to letters to customers to, if necessary, media interviews. Determine Top Messages - When speaking aboutsomething affecting your organization, always include yourorganization's positive key messages- "talking points" focusing on whatsets you apart and what you want your audiences to remember long afteryour "bad news" fades. Media Training - Considering today's competitive,24-hour news cycle, virtually any crisis can quickly escalate into anews story. Professional media training can help make sure thatexecutives, spokespeople and business owners are prepared toeffectively speak for their organizations in the event of "bad news."Trainers with actual newsroom experience can be most trusted to providethe expertise to truly prepare you to face the media. Hopefully, your organization will not experience the challenge ofdealing with adversity communications. But, every business of everysize should be prepared, just in case. 
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