Crisis training
Practising the worst case scenario

Training

With experience and practical know-how

We provide training for business leaders, public speakers, press departments and crisis management teams for confident crisis management. We accompany you in the development of preventive communicative competence, which also pays off in acute crisis situations. This includes practice-oriented workshops on how to deal with and communicate crises: Crisis training, crisis team training, simulation exercises as well as workshops for corporate communication to prepare them for their role in crisis teams.

Media training

Media training: Practising a successful appearance

“The difference between the correct word and the almost correct word is as great as the difference between a flash of lightning and a firefly.” This saying by Mark Twain plays a decisive role in crisis communication. It applies to any form of communication but is particularly difficult to ensure in its verbal version. Therefore, professional preparation for dialogues, discussions, interviews and TV recordings is essential for all leaders, managers and speakers.

We work with the leading media trainers and help our clients feel confident and cut a good figure in the spotlight in uncertain times.

Our service:

  • Statement training: Getting to the heart of key messages
  • Camera training: Confident appearance on TV
  • Interview training: Be prepared for investigative and critical questions
  • Media training: Becoming a professional in dialogue with journalists

Crisis communication

Training for the specific task of crisis communication

In crises, communication has a certain importance: it has to act immediately, and make decisions immediately – even under uncertainty or when no (sufficient) results of the assessment of the facts are available yet. It is therefore all the more important that both the communications representative in the crisis team and the associated team from corporate communications are intensively trained and prepared for their demanding role. In this way, they build up methodological and experiential knowledge in a targeted manner.

Our crisis training for communication departments is structured as follows:

  • Development of a realistic, but fictitious case/scenario
  • Escalation of the scenario in successive stages
  • Tasks adapted to communications
  • Control of the exercise by experienced trainers
  • Subsequent feedback and evaluation with learnings for optimisation

The exercises in crisis training include, among others:

  • Answering critical or investigative media inquiries under pressure
  • Dialogue with customers in the call center or on-site
  • Interviewing the media by phone or live on-site (TV/radio interview)
  • Responding to posts and comments on social media
  • Informing employees, planning management briefings
  • Organising different communication tools (e.g. press conferences, town hall)

All tasks are developed by the trainer team and prepared specifically for the company. Often our trainers are accompanied by professional actors in the exercises, who portray challenging dialogue partners: For example, representatives from corporate communications have to conduct a conversation with someone affected or harmed by the crisis. The actors receive detailed briefings and preparations for their role in the exercise. This makes the exercises particularly close to reality – the gain in experience and knowledge is especially high for the participants.

In our crisis exercises we challenge in the following questions:

  • Is the UK up to the demands of crisis communication?
  • Can the UK refer to the crisis communication manual/handbook and is everything essential regulated here?
  • Are the tasks and roles clearly assigned?
  • Is the team capable of developing a master story under increased pressure?
  • Can the team define strategies under stress and implement measures quickly and efficiently?
  • Is there confidence in dealing with critical and investigative journalists?
  • Is the spokesperson(s) prepared for interviews with journalists?
  • Does social media communication run under the control of the UK?
  • Does the team succeed in gaining interpretative authority over the crisis?

Crisis team training

Practising the worst-case scenario under pressure

Anyone with a role in the crisis team should go through a professional crisis team exercise once a year. – Whether it is the board of directors, the executive board, the management or those responsible for communications and security – they all have to function in an emergency and work together successfully in crisis management. Crisis team exercises prepare them for the strategic, procedural and communicative requirements that are essential for successfully managing a crisis. Established and implemented structures, processes and procedures are practised so that they are immediately ready in an emergency. Each individual crisis team member must be able to act in a considered, team-oriented, powerful and determined manner.

In our crisis simulation training, crisis teams work through a fictitious crisis case that is realistic for the company in multi-stage escalation levels that build on each other. The aim is for the crisis team to develop efficient and goal-oriented solutions within a given time window. Learning and feedback rounds are essential parts of such crisis training. We design, plan and implement our crisis simulation exercises together with experienced trainers who have the necessary expert knowledge in the specialist areas – from crisis communication to the specialist knowledge (e.g. from IT, forensics, and law) required for the realistic development of the scenarios or cases.

We often involve professional actors in the exercises to portray challenging dialogue partners: For example, they take on the role of someone affected by the crisis or someone who has been harmed, thus additionally challenging the speakers. The actors receive detailed briefings and preparations for their role in the exercise. This makes the training particularly close to reality – the gain in experience and knowledge is especially high for the participants.

In our crisis communication exercises we challenge the following questions:

  • Is the crisis team defined and ready for action?
  • Is the distribution of tasks, reporting channels and information flows clear?
  • Do all crisis team members have their own areas of responsibility under control?
  • Can the crisis management team draw on materials, manuals and handbooks – and are all essentials regulated here?
  • Do strategy (staff) and operational implementation (back office) of crisis management go hand in hand?
  • Are all participants able to cope with the stressful situation?
  • Is crisis communication handled professionally?
  • Are prepared communication tools available (especially dark sites, hotlines and alerts)?
  • Is the spokesperson(s) trained and prepared for interviews?
  • Are all important external advisors (especially lawyers, IT specialists and communication experts) available?