Open to Public View

Perceptions color reality. If you look angry, resentful, and evasive, even when you are telling the truth, people usually trust their eyes first. Make your appearance congruent with your words, and make your message vivid, truthful, compelling, and succinct.

Six Ways to Face a Crisis before it Happens

Picture the Situation and Put in the Practice Before You Need it.

You can't anticipate every possible disaster, but you can presume the most likely possibilities, at least in broad-brushstroke scenarios: accident, verbal attack, negative study or report, and so on. Identify the kinds of worst-case scenarios your company might face and prepare for them with the help of outside experts who can provide candid feedback on your potential scenarios, available facts, spokespersons to use, and responses to make.

Be vividly Specific and Compelling

Turn your comments and answers upside down and begin speaking in the "pyramid style" of good newspaper writing - all of the most important facts in your first sentence, with each subsequent sentence an elaboration, offering layers of supporting detail. Use specific examples, contrasts, details to make your quote more quotable than an opponent's. Speak English "like it tastes good." Use the sensory, situational adjectives of full color, not the grayness of dry abstractions and wordy generalizations.

Be Brief to Build Rapport

Your brevity brings you other benefits. You are less likely to be misquoted. The interviewer stays engaged and feels more comfortable, because he feels in control as he guides the questions. You have more opportunities to complete your comments naturally with your short aside - the positive characterization you have created of your company, received feedback on, and practiced shortly after reading this article.

Be Plainly Clear

Patterns literally distract. To be heard and respected, avoid wearing any kind of patterns, especially on the upper half of your body - patterns break up the attention span of anyone looking at you so they do not listen as long nor remember as much. Other patterns of distraction are ambient or distinct background noise or voices and motion, yours or that of other people. Attempt to speak in a place of visual and sound calmness. People do not have "earlids" to screen out noise and can get distracted. If others are moving around you, listeners are less attentive. If you walk or gesture quickly, you do not look assured or truthful. The more you move your body or your arms, the less people will be able to listen and find you credible. Avoid "hand dances." Gestures that are high, fast, and frequent, especially above the waist, rob you of credibility. Use lower, slower, and few motions to illustrate a point.

Look to Their Positive Intent, Especially When They Appear to have None

One of the surest and most deserved ways to build credibility and respect is to display grace under pressure. Another person's vigorous, personal attack against you, while uncomfortable in the short term, is actually quite advantageous. Genuinely praise some specific action of the person who has criticized you. Because most attacks from critics are not a complete surprise, you usually do have some time in advance to anticipate that they might attack again. Be specific, direct, and truthful. Find some part of the attacker's current or past statements, actions, or motivation with which you can truthfully agree. In most cases, if you can't do this, you are too entrenched in a narrow perspective against them and thus more vulnerable to counterattacks.

Be the First to Say You are Wrong When you are

Say you are sorry. Say it soon. Prove you mean it. Say it in person, if at all possible. Say it first to the person or persons most damaged, no matter how much you'd rather avoid that uncomfortable situation. Otherwise, the situation will metaphorically stick to your feet like tar paper, forever pulling people's attention toward it and away from any subsequent good actions you take. You've made the taint potentially indelible, the stink longer-lasting.

1. Match the adjectives from the text with their synonyms:

	Adjectives		Synonyms
	Inaccurate		Indignant, incorrect
	Biased		Corresponding, matching, harmonious
	Resentful		Convincing, persuasive, exiting
	Evasive		Creating a relaxing atmosphere
	Congruent		Susceptible, weak
	Succinct		Imprecise, incorrect
	Compelling		Permanent, unforgettable
	Ambient		Elusive, indirect, misleading
	Vigorous		Prejudiced, subjective
	Vulnerable		Energetic, exuberant
	Indelible		Concise, to the point, brief

2. Match the antonyms below with the adjectives from the text in exercise 3:

Feeble, unconvincing, direct, temporary, invincible (unconquerable), precise, unbiased (open-minded, candid), disparate (incompatible).

3. Practice snowball first with the adjectives from the text, then with their synonyms, then with their antonyms. (a student says a word, the second one repeats it and says one more, the next student repeats all words and add one more, etc.)

Example: 1st. student: vulnerable.

2d st.: vulnerable, ambient.

3d st.: vulnerable, ambient, evasive.

………………………………………………….

4. Complete each sentence with the correct ending:

	We often don't take action until after		with your words.
	What can you do to protect your or your organization's reputation		face and prepare for them with the help of outside experts who can provide candid feedback on your potential scenarios.
	Make your appearance congruent		because he feels in control as he guides the questions.
	You can't anticipate every possible disaster, but		distract.
	Identify the kinds of worst-case scenarios your company might		to display grace under pressure.
	Use specific examples, contrasts, details to make		avoid wearing any kind of patterns.
	The interviewer stays engaged and feels more comfortable		a crisis has hit us.
	Patterns literally		in the face of a future crisis?
	One of the surest and most deserved ways to build credibility and respect is		with which you can truthfully agree.
	To be heard and respected		your quote more quotable than an opponent's.
	In most cases, if you can't do this, you are too entrenched in a narrow perspective against them		you can presume the most likely possibilities, at least in broad-brushstroke scenarios.
	Find some part of the attacker's current or past statements, actions, or motivation		and thus more vulnerable to counterattacks.

5. Match the words in the list with words in the table to find common collocations used in the text.

1. A thankless

2. To keep the faith of

3. To protect your organization’s reputation

4. Official or media

5. To anticipate

6. To presume

7. To provide

8. To feel

9. To receive

10. To avoid

11. To get

12. To build

13. To display

14. To be entrenched

Every possible disaster	The publics	Distracted	In the face of a future crisis	Grace under pressure	The most likely possibilities	Feedback on
Candid feedback	In a narrow perspective	task	In control	Credibility and respect	Announce-ment	Wearing any kind of patterns

6. Discuss the following questions in groups:

1. What can a PR practitioner do to protect an organization's reputation in the face of a future crisis?

2. What are the main mistakes which can be made in a crises situation?

Speaking

1. Discuss with your partner main tips to remediate the situation.

Imagine the situation that you are a PR practitioner and work for a Pepsodent company. You tried to sell toothpaste in Southeast Asia by emphasizing that it “whitens your teeth”. Your campaign failed and you found out that the local natives chew betel nuts to blacken their teeth because they found it attractive.

2. Speak on the topic:

“The Ways to Face a Crisis before it Happens”.

UNIT V