Transcript The ‘Rules of the Road’ for Church Spokespersons

The ‘Rules of the Road’
for
Church Spokespersons
by
Barry McLoughlin & Laura Peck
McLoughlin Media
Ottawa Canada
Washington DC
Objectives
Focus on news – particularly ‘earned’
media
How to be an effective spokesperson for
the Church
Risk and crisis communications
Be Proactive When
you’ve got a story to tell which is important
to your credibility
it’s a positive story but waiting for the
media to call is unrealistic
it’s a negative story and will inevitably
emerge; but you want to control the
announcement
Media Frames
The media have some natural ‘frames’ they use to
tell their stories…
the little guy against city hall
hypocrisy – say one thing do another
Incompetence
Unusual, unexpected
unfairness, outrage
Issues in the Media
Turn the telescope around – from focusing
on the Church to focusing on the issues
Who do we have as expert ‘talking heads’
on those issues?
If we proactively focus on these ‘hard
news’ issues, we can bring to bear
Catholic sensibilities on them
The result can be a powerful, reinforcing,
ongoing positioning of the Church and its
teachings – without making the Church the
issue!
A Proactive Approach
Planned effort involving a “story”,
a strategy, and a plan
‘Feature’ or ‘soft news’ story
Requires relationship-building
over time
Choose: an all-media approach
(for major story) or offer the story
to a selected journalist (for feature
piece)
Proactive Communications Focus
Set up & operate Direct
Parish/Diocesan Channels
Identify Third Party
Supporters
Website
Management
Manage the
message… get the
message out.
Proactive
Communications
Focus
Anticipate and
meet journalists’
needs
Manage perceptions
& expectations
Pro-Active Tools & Activities
Information-for-file
Letters-to-the-editor
Backgrounders and fact sheets
News release
Media kit
Media Tours
Web site
Keys to Effective Media
Relations
Build relationships over time
Get to know your media
Be strategic in your approach
Invest the time to prepare
Shifting Off the Defence
Merely reacting well is not good enough.
Political Axiom: “Even when you’re doing
well on your critic’s issues, you’re already
losing…”
A Credible Spokesperson
- is knowledgeable…plugged in..
- speaks from the heart
- conveys caring, empathy,
conviction, a sense of authenticity.
- not a plastic, prepackaged, bland,
slick ‘talking head’ spin doctor
When the issue is hot….or the
Church is in trouble…..
Lower the emotions
surrounding the issue
Establish credibility for the
Church
Stop the flow of negative
stories
The McLoughlin Wedge®
Initial
Question
Initial
Brief Answer
Follow-up
Question
STOP
Elaborate
Tracking
Question
State Your Message
Support It
STOP
Further
Expansion
Illustrate It
Bridging and Deflecting
Reporter’s
Question
STEP TWO: Bridge
STEP ONE:
1. Acknowledge
or
2. Refute
STEP THREE:
Your Message
Track
Bridges
“Let’s look at this from another
perspective and that is…”
“Have you considered an equally
important question and that is…?”
“That’s merely one part of a much
bigger issue…”
“Let’s not lose sight of the underlying
reality which is….”
Avoiding Out-of-Context Quotes
Be 100% consistent
Avoid off-hand comments
Prepare self-contained quotes
Repeat quotes and key messages
Try not to be accidentally interesting
Be intentionally interesting!
Source of the ‘believed message’
(When people see you)
Source: UCLA
55% Visual
7% Verbal
38% Vocal
When people only hear
you...
84% Vocal
Tone and
Delivery
16% Verbal
The Spokesperson’s Focus
Remember you are NOT talking to the
media - you are talking to the public
Stress the positives or the action
you’re taking
Focus on your issues don’t just react to others
Speak from the heart
Definition of a Crisis
An event, revelation or allegation which
threatens the integrity, reputation, or
survival of an individual or organization. It
challenges the public's sense of safety,
values or appropriateness.
Crisis Communications
The focus of crisis communications is to
rapidly de-escalate the crisis through
timely and effective communications
methods.
6 Crisis Concepts
1. In a crisis, issues mutate
2. A crisis occurs with little or no
warning
3. The media are not the sole channel
4. It is easy to manage the wrong
issue
6 Crisis Concepts
5. The media can help or hinder your
response
6. If you wait until you know everything,
you’ll never say anything
10 Principles of Crisis
Communications
1. Be proactive
2. Designate a single spokesperson
3. Communicate early and often
4. Encourage the “front door” approach
5. Get ahead of the curve
10 Principles of Crisis
Communications
6. If there is bad news to come - YOU
announce it
7. Get all the bad news out at once
8. Don’t “Break into jail”
9. Quit while you’re behind
10. Mop up after the mess
Expert Definition of Risk
Amount of Hazard X Likelihood of
Occurrence = Risk
New Definition of Risk
Amount of Hazard + Outrage = Risk
Risk Issue
A threat to life, health, safety and/or the
environment
Risk Management
Systematic identification and analysis of
risks and ways to control them
Risk Communications
Interactive exchange of information and
opinion concerning risk.
Risk Communications
-
Includes activities such as:
issues and stakeholder identification
facilitating engagement among stakeholders
building consensus around the appropriate risk
management decision
delivering timely and appropriate messages
working with the media
Interactions among stakeholders
monitoring and evaluating public dialogue
Definitions
Risk – an actual, perceived or potential threat to life,
health, safety or the environment. It usually includes
elements of high threat and low trust
Goals of Risk
Communications
–to overcome panic and fear
–to establish credibility for the
organization
Perception of Risk
Most dangerous mode of transportation:
– Experts….cars
– Non-experts - planes
How the Public
Perceives Risk
The public tends to:
Over-estimate the frequency
and danger of rare risks
Under-estimate the frequency
and danger of everyday risks
Perception/Expectation
If the public perceives something as high
risk, they will act on that perception
Don’t raise expectations that can’t be
attained
Managing both perception and
expectations is key to gaining
understanding and support
Top Three Sources of Risk
Information
The media
Advocacy groups
Opinion leaders
Six Factors Which
Influence the Public
Acceptability of Risk
1.Choice
2.Familiarity
3.Similar Events
4.Power
5.Consultation
6.Spokesperson
The Strategy will Help
Identify
The nature of the risk issue
The key stakeholders
The core messages
The communications initiatives and tools
The mechanisms to evaluate the strategy
What to Watch For
Any reduction of public safety tends to
trigger outrage
Actions speak louder than words; trust is
built over time
Acting quickly and responsibly does not
mean you are admitting legal responsibility
What to Watch For
Just because the public is ‘non-expert’ doesn’t
mean they are stupid.
If the hazard level is low, the risk can still be
significant in the public’s view
When the sense of indignation is high, the public
may not be listening to dry numbers and
statistics. You could be talking the language of
‘morals’ – ‘power’, greed’ etc
In order to be heard the sense of outrage must
be reduced.
3 Guiding Principles
1. Consultation is key to credibility
2. Communications must be open and
coherent
3. Understanding risk perception is
essential
Risk Comm. Strategy Goals
Identifying, listening & providing
information
Shared understanding of risks &
consequences
Development of shared goals
Acceptance of principles
Achieving consensus behind decision
Centers for Disease Control – Advice in a
Crisis
Communicate with the public right away,
even before the facts of a situation are
known.
Succeeding does not mean having all the
answers, it means demonstrating that
there is a system in place responding to
the crisis.
Structure of Your Statement
Express empathy—acknowledge people’s
concerns and fears.
Share what you know. Confirm facts and
discuss the action steps underway. Be as
candid as possible.
Be frank and forthcoming about the unknowns
and describe plans to fill in knowledge gaps.
State the Church’s commitment to helping
people through the crisis.
Tell people where they can get more information
and when you will be back in touch with them
Several Cautions
Media are not your mouthpieces
Reporters hate being manipulated or lied
to
Media look for an angle.
Try to anticipate how
they will play the
latest wrinkle
Several Cautions
Media are not your mouthpieces.
They will not automatically cover
your story or focus on what you think
they should
Be straightforward. Don’t string them
along. Reporters hate being
manipulated.
Both parties deserve respect
Summary
Work with the media - not against them
“Give to get” - cooperate
Know their deadlines
Be friendly. But if you need a friend, get a
dog” (Harry S. Truman)