When the news isn’t good, people must be front-and-center to tell their story before others start telling it for them. Robert Dilenschneider, former boss of PR firm Hill and Knowlton, used to say that when the news is bad, “tell it all and tell it fast.”
When bad news happens, people have a tendency to either withdraw from the media or trivialize the situation. When the emergency department at Sunrise Hospital in New York was accused of turning away an uninsured homeless man with chest pain who died moments later, the hospital’s spokesperson was asked by ABC News to comment. “We’re all going to die,” the spokesperson said. True, but not really an appropriate comment considering the circumstance. In the aftermath of the 2009 earthquake in Italy that killed 260 people and left 18,000 homeless, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told survivors to consider themselves on a camping weekend. “Go to the beach,” said Berlusconi. “Take a short vacation.”
To avoid coming across as insensitive or glib, there are three fundamental concepts you should keep in mind in order to present yourself and your organization in a positive manner:
- Be Accessible and Forthcoming: Lying low is rarely a good strategy when it comes to dealing with reporters who are searching for comments or answers. Failing to make oneself available to media when problems arise only yields the floor to others who will speak, and what they say will no doubt be critical. As an old public relations adage goes, “Mess up, ‘fess up.”
- Be Among Those Most Upset: When bad news happens, you have to be among those most upset about the situation, even if your negligence caused it. Media and other stakeholders will look to you to see your reaction. Are you responding with genuine concern? Or is there a callous or indifferent manner to the delivery of your message? Your response must reflect compassion and empathy, both in content and tone. In addition to saying the right words, you must look as if you genuinely believe what you’re saying. Being among those most upset demonstrates your sincerity in acknowledging a damaging situation and reflects an appreciation of the impact that situation has on stakeholders. When bad news happens, people don’t care how much you know, they need to know how much you care.
- Know That Facts Will Never Win Over Emotion: Historically, public relations professionals bombarded people with facts and figures designed to persuade them that there was no reason to worry about company performance, the new dumpsite, or the proposed low-cost housing project. Corporate executives and spokespeople traditionally talked over and around the emotional concerns of others, not fully realizing the alienating nature of that approach. The fact is that news is about emotion. Facts used to counter emotion are not enough to convince people who are upset or distraught. For them, facts are incidental. All the fact in the world may prove a point, but if individuals feel strongly about an issue they’ll go with their gut. Therefore, instead of regurgitating facts and figures, focus on the emotions that underpin the issues you and your organization face.
Excerpted from When the Headline Is You: An Insider’s Guide to Handling the Media (Jeff Ansell, with Jeffrey Leeson).
