---
name: pr-crisis-response
description: "Build a crisis communications plan to respond fast and credibly when something goes wrong. Use when asked to handle a PR crisis, draft a crisis comms plan, respond to a public backlash/scandal/incident, or prepare holding statements. Produces a crisis comms plan — situation assessment, stakeholder map, a message house, channel-by-channel statements, a holding statement, an internal brief, and a follow-up timeline."
---

# PR Crisis Response Skill

In a crisis, silence reads as guilt and a clumsy statement makes it worse. The first hour decides the
narrative. This skill produces a coordinated response — what you say, to whom, on which channel, and in what
order — anchored in one consistent message so the company speaks with a single voice while the facts are still
moving.

## Working from a brief

You'll often get the situation in a sentence ("a customer's data was exposed and it's trending"). **Produce the
full plan anyway** — infer the likely stakeholders, channels, and questions, label assumptions, and clearly
flag where facts must be confirmed before publishing. Never stall for complete information; a crisis plan with
labelled unknowns beats no plan. Mark anything legally sensitive for review.

## Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided (else infer and label):

- **What happened** — the incident, when, who's affected, and what's confirmed vs. still unknown.
- **Severity & exposure** — how serious, who knows, and where it's spreading (press, social, regulators).
- **Organisation** — what you do, who your audiences are, and your voice.
- **Constraints** — legal/regulatory limits, what you can't say yet, and who must approve.

## Output Format

### Crisis Response Plan: [situation]

**1. Situation assessment** — the facts (confirmed / unconfirmed / unknown), severity, and the likely trajectory.

**2. Guiding principles** — be fast, honest, human, and consistent; lead with the people affected, not the company.

**3. Stakeholder map** — who needs to hear from you, in priority order, and what each one needs:

| Audience | What they care about | Channel | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affected customers | am I harmed, what now | direct email / in-app | 1 |
| Employees | what do I tell people | internal note | 1 |
| Press / public | what happened, accountability | statement / social | 2 |
| Regulators / partners | obligations, next steps | direct, formal | as required |

**4. Message house** — the single core message (one sentence), three supporting pillars (accountability,
action, prevention), and the facts that back each. Everything else stays consistent with this.

**5. Holding statement** — a short, publishable-now statement that acknowledges, shows you're acting, and
commits to an update by a stated time — without speculating or admitting unverified fault.

**6. Channel statements** — tailored versions for the priority channels (customer email, social post, press
statement, internal brief), each on-message.

**7. Q&A prep** — the hardest questions you'll be asked and honest, on-message answers (incl. "what we don't yet know").

**8. Follow-up timeline** — when the next update comes, who owns it, and the criteria for standing down.

## Quality Checks

- [ ] Leads with the people affected and clear accountability, not corporate defensiveness
- [ ] Separates confirmed facts from unknowns — no speculation presented as fact
- [ ] Every channel statement is consistent with the one core message
- [ ] A holding statement is ready to publish now, with a committed time for the next update
- [ ] Internal audience is briefed before/with the external statement, not after
- [ ] Legally sensitive claims are flagged for review, not asserted

## Anti-Patterns

- [ ] Do not go silent or delay — issue a holding statement, then update; absence writes the story for you
- [ ] Do not speculate, guess at cause, or admit unverified fault — acknowledge and commit to updates instead
- [ ] Do not let channels drift off-message — one core message, tailored, not contradictory versions
- [ ] Do not forget employees — they're your first responders and they'll hear it anyway
- [ ] Do not over-spin — minimising or blaming others erodes the trust you're trying to keep

## Based On

Crisis communications practice — single-source-of-truth messaging, stakeholder prioritisation, holding statements, and accountable, people-first response.
