PECB Crisis Communication flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Crisis communication

The collection, processing and dissemination of information to stakeholders during a disruptive event, intended to protect people, operations and reputation while enabling an effective organizational response.

Crisis lifecycle stages

Pre-crisis, acute, chronic and resolution phases. Each demands a distinct communication posture, from preparedness and monitoring through holding statements, sustained explanation, and finally evaluation and learning.

Holding statement

A short, pre-approved first response that acknowledges awareness of the incident, expresses concern, states facts are being verified, and commits to a specific next update time.

Situational Crisis Communication Theory

Coffin's framework matching response strategy to attributed responsibility: victim cluster suggests instructing and informing, accidental cluster supports diminishing, and preventable cluster requires apology and remedial action.

Victim crisis cluster

Crisis types where the organization is also a victim, such as natural disasters, rumors or product tampering. Low attributed responsibility means minimal reputational threat and informational responses suffice.

Preventable crisis cluster

Crises caused by organizational misdeeds or knowingly risky behavior. High attributed responsibility means severe reputational threat, requiring apology, compensation and corrective commitments.

Golden hour

The first period after an incident becomes public, during which the organization should issue an initial statement establishing empathy, response control and an update commitment before others define the narrative.

Spokesperson

The designated individual authorized to speak officially on the incident. Selection considers functional authority, credibility with affected audiences, media training and availability, not merely seniority.

Single voice principle

All organizational spokespeople deliver the same approved key messages. Divergent statements create contradictions that amplify reputational damage and undermine public confidence in the response.

Stakeholder mapping

Prioritizing audiences by their power to influence the crisis and their dependency on organizational information. Affected people, employees and regulators typically outrank general media.

Dark site

A pre-built, unpublished crisis web page ready to go live immediately. It removes dependency on affected infrastructure and shortens time to first public statement.

Crisis communication plan

A documented set of activation triggers, team roles, spokesperson designations, stakeholder lists, channel inventory, message templates, approval workflows and testing schedules guiding incident communication.

Activation trigger

A predefined condition, such as injury, regulatory contact, media inquiry volume or monitoring threshold, that formally converts routine monitoring into an activated crisis communication response.

Rumor control

Correcting false information by stating the accurate fact directly rather than repeating the false claim, since repetition increases audience recall of the misinformation itself.

Message discipline

Restricting public statements to verified facts and approved key messages. Speculation, unverified causes and off-script remarks are the most frequent source of secondary reputational harm.

Internal-first sequencing

Informing employees before or simultaneously with external audiences, preventing leaks, preserving frontline credibility and equipping staff to answer questions from customers and communities.

Legal review tension

The conflict between counsel's liability protection and the speed the public expects. Pre-agreeing which statement elements require legal clearance reduces delay during the acute phase.

Regulatory notification deadline

A legally mandated timeframe for reporting incidents such as data breaches or safety events. These deadlines override reputational timing preferences and must be identified during preparedness.

Time to first statement

A core post-crisis metric measuring elapsed time between incident detection and the first official public communication. Shorter intervals generally correlate with better narrative control.

Sentiment recovery curve

A post-crisis metric tracking how public sentiment returns to baseline over time. It indicates whether communication is rebuilding trust or allowing reputational damage to persist.

Crisis team roles

Predefined responsibilities typically covering incident command, communications lead, spokesperson, monitoring, stakeholder liaison, legal counsel and logistics, assigned before any crisis occurs.

Channel inventory

A documented list of communication channels per stakeholder group, including reach, access constraints and fallback options, so messages still arrive when primary systems fail.

Empathy statement

An early expression of concern for those affected, delivered before technical detail. It signals that the organization recognizes human impact and is not merely managing its image.

Speculation risk

The danger of offering causes, blame or timelines before verification. Later corrections appear as concealment, so statements should describe only confirmed facts and next steps.

Secondary reputational harm

Damage caused not by the original incident but by the response itself, such as contradictions, silence, defensive tone or delayed correction of earlier inaccurate statements.

Issue versus crisis

An issue is a developing concern manageable through normal communication; a crisis is an event threatening operations or reputation that requires immediate activation of the crisis communication plan.

Crisis simulation exercise

A rehearsed scenario testing activation, decision-making, spokesperson performance and channel readiness. Findings feed plan revisions, and exercises should recur on a scheduled cycle.

Key messages

Three to five concise, pre-approved statements conveying the organization's position, actions and commitments. They anchor every spokesperson appearance and public channel during the incident.

Stakeholder liaison

The role responsible for direct dialogue with affected groups, families, regulators or customers, feeding their concerns back to the crisis team so messaging reflects real audience needs.

Social media monitoring threshold

A predefined volume or sentiment change that triggers escalation from routine monitoring to formal crisis activation, removing reliance on subjective judgment during fast-moving events.

Corrective action communication

Publicly describing concrete steps taken to prevent recurrence after a preventable crisis. It supports the apology and rebuilding trust by demonstrating change rather than intent alone.

Crisis post-mortem

A structured review after resolution examining timelines, message accuracy, stakeholder reach and response gaps, producing documented improvements to plans, training and approval workflows.