Crisis Communications Checklist

Here’s a quick and easy checklist to use for each phase of a crisis

Contentious Issue Note Checklist

Here are some things to consider when writing a contentious issue note:

Issue:

• What occurred? (be concise)

Background:

• When did it occur?
• Why/how did it occur?
• DO NOT use names in a contentious issue note. Use generic terms, a customer, client, neighbor, supplier, etc.
• If this is a complicated issue, did you separate the material into several notes?
• Does the issue note require input from another company division or department?
• Is the information accurate?
• Should anyone else review the material?
• Have you included the date, your name, your location and your telephone number at the bottom of the note?

Media analysis:

• Do a media scan and analysis of the coverage.

Stakeholder position:

• Identify your stakeholders and present an overview of their position on an issue.

Strategic communications objective:

• What are your communications goals and objectives and how you would like to see your company positioned on this issue?

Response:

• What is the current situation?
• What actions have been/are being taken?

Key Messaging (no more than 4 or 5):

• Develop key messages that will allow you to achieve your communications objectives.

Strategy/tactical Plan:

• How will you respond to the issue?
• What tactics will be used?
• Identify lead and supporting spokespeople, senior management involvement.
• What issues management products will be used, media relations and timing?

Speechwriting Checklist

Preparation:

• Do you have the information you need to address this audience?
• Can you state the message of this speech in one sentence?
• Have you divided your ideas/raw materials into sections?
• Do you know what you want the audience to take away from the speech?

Writing:

• Are you using signposts to indicate when new sections begin?
• Are you using different sentence types?
• Have you used first person? Contractions?
• Are you mostly writing in sentences less than two lines?
• Are you using sentence fragments?
• Is there emotion in this speech? What are you trying to make the audience feel?
• Does the style reflect the speaker’s identity?

Reviewing:

• Is it factually accurate, interesting and convincing?
• When you read the speech aloud does it sound conversational?
• Will the speaker sound confident and action-oriented?
• Do your numbers add up and are they accurate?
• Have you eliminated noun clusters?
• Are your verbs strong?
• Does your main message come through clearly?
• Can the audience tell when a new section of the speech begins?
• Have you recapped the information and ended with a “call to action?”
• Use spell check and a grammar checker (i.e., the Flesch-Reading Ease Level). The higher the reading ease level number the better. Values under 40 are unacceptable.

Proofreading Checklist

• Check and double-check the headline. It’s easy to forget to check the headline.
• Make sure the date and dateline are correct — the month, the day, the year. Check it again.
• Check the “template” items (i.e., media contact info, your website address) on the bottom of the release and other materials to make sure details are correct.
• Review page numbers to make sure they’re correct.
• Check there are periods at the end of every sentence and periods are inside quotation marks.
• Make sure quotation marks and apostrophes are in the right font (if material is copied from an email, they often aren’t).
• Make sure any numbers add up and are accurate.
• Double-check proper names, especially the names of organizations. Some are possessive, some aren’t (i.e., Children’s Miracle Network)
• Double-check little words as they’re often interchanged: or, of, if, it, is.
• Make sure there are two spaces after periods. Make sure there aren’t extra spaces between words or after sentences.

Other Tips:

• Read it slowly out loud.
• Use a spellchecker and a grammar checker as a first screening, but don’t depend on them.
• Have others read it.
• Use a blank piece of paper to cover the material not yet proofed.
• Keep a list of your most common errors and proof separately for these items.
• Shorten your sentences. Sentences should average fewer than 20 words or two typed lines.
• Shorten your paragraphs. Paragraphs should be bite size.
• Take out what isn’t needed — remove the word “that” from sentences, unnecessary adjectives, flowery language, clichés, redundant expressions (third annual awards gala, first time ever).
• Change multi-syllabic words to one or two syllable words —they are easier to read and easier for your audience to understand.
• Take out negative words and replace with positives.
• Use active verbs rather than passive.