CRISIS RESPONSE
When the public is watching, every word counts.
Something has happened, and people are asking questions faster than your organization can answer them. Blacksmith Strategies helps you get organized, get aligned and speak with one clear voice to residents, staff, elected officials and the media.
GOVERNMENT • PUBLIC LEADERS • ORGANIZATIONS SERVING THE PUBLIC
Not in a crisis today? Our Crisis Readiness work helps you build a plan, prepare your spokespeople and practice before it counts.
Prepare before it happensThe first hours shape everything that follows.
The first statement, and how often you update after it, decide whether people extend trust or assume the worst. We help you move quickly without guessing, overpromising or hiding behind official language.
First
Steady the message
Next
Set a reliable rhythm of updates
Throughout
Protect your credibility
How we help in the first 72 hours.
We bring order to the pressure, so leaders stop scrambling and the people you serve get clear, timely information.
1. Get the facts straight and leadership aligned
- Separate what’s confirmed from what’s still unknown
- Name the decision-makers, approvers and spokespeople
- Agree on when the next update goes out
2. The first statement and a message kit
- A holding statement in plain language
- Talking points and anticipated questions
- A simple frame: what we know, what we’re confirming, what happens next
3. Media and public channels
- Assets fitted to press, broadcast, social media and your website
- Spokesperson preparation for interviews and press briefings
- A plan to correct misinformation quickly
4. Your own people first
- Updates for employees and frontline staff
- A script for leaders to use internally
- An FAQ for the people answering phones and front counters
5. The audiences you answer to
- Elected officials, boards, partner agencies and community leaders
- The right level of detail for each
- Timing that keeps no one surprised
6. Steady counsel as the story develops
- Avoid the slow leak of new details that erodes trust
- Adjust the plan as facts change
- Keep every channel saying the same thing
Our guiding principle
Tell people the truth as soon as you can confirm it, say it plainly and with care, and always tell them when they’ll hear from you next.
Where responses go wrong.
- Leaders say different things, and the message splinters
- One audience gets updates while others hear nothing
- The public hears it from critics or social media first
- New details surface day after day, and credibility slips
Why Blacksmith
Experience from inside government.
Dionna Smith has managed communications from inside government, under real public scrutiny. She brings that experience, and the framework from her book On the Record, to every engagement.