The first hours of a crisis define how your organisation is perceived long after the event itself. This course builds the capability to take command of communication from the moment a negative event breaks — developing positioning rapidly, managing media dynamics, deploying spokespeople effectively and coordinating messaging across all channels. The focus is operational: what to do, in what order, under real pressure.
Crisis preparation and rapid response, crisis messaging and positioning under pressure, strategic media engagement, spokesperson selection, deployment and briefing, and managing media encounters in the field.
Every session runs in a small, boardroom-format group — typically six to eight senior professionals. Your trainer tailors content to the specific industries, organisations and challenges each participant brings, so you work on real situations, not generic examples. The learning combines evidence-based best practice briefings with structured discussions, practical workshops and peer learning. This is training with a coaching and consulting flavour — focused on building skills and producing outputs you can apply in your work immediately.
- Take command of your organisation’s communication response from the first hours of a crisis
- Develop crisis messaging and positioning rapidly and decisively under pressure
- Manage media dynamics strategically — deciding when, how and whether to engage
- Deploy and brief spokespeople effectively for crisis media encounters
- Coordinate messaging across traditional media, social media and internal channels
- Apply structured rapid-response processes to seize the initiative early
- Prepare crisis statements, Q&A documents and positioning materials under time constraints
- Handle challenging media encounters with composure and clear communication
- Three stages of crisis management
- Systems and preparation before a crisis
- Mapping issues
- Enabling factors for rapid response
- The media agenda in a crisis
- Universal principles of crisis messaging
- Response process in a crisis
- Proforma positioning
- Techniques for rapid message development
- Best practice examples of crisis response and positioning
- How journalists cover crises
- Crisis news angles
- News dynamics in a crisis
- Strategic engagement with journalists in a crisis: when and when not to engage with the media
- Crisis messaging best practice
- Developing pro-forma crisis messages
- Press releases vs statements in a crisis
- Creating pro-forma Q&A documents
- When and when not to speak with the media
- Rapid response
- Media engagement ground rules in a crisis
- Crisis management case studies and lessons learned
- What makes a good spokesperson?
- Selecting the right spokespeople
- Spokesperson management
- Effectively briefing spokespeople for crisis interviews
- Communicating to internal audiences in a crisis
- Handling media off-site
- Responding to door stepping and hostile media off-site
- Planning for a press conference
- Managing a crisis press conference
This course is for professionals who will lead or coordinate the communication response when a crisis hits — managing messaging, media engagement and spokesperson deployment under real pressure. It is designed for communications directors, crisis team leads and senior managers who need to take charge of the narrative in the critical first hours.
- Dubai22 October 2026· $1,200 plus VATBook
- Live Online28–29 October 2026· $950Book
- Dubai17 December 2026· $1,200 plus VATBook
- Live Online23–24 December 2026· $950Book
The following are some of the ISOC trainers who regularly lead this course, depending whether you join us in London, Dubai or live online.
Yes. We deliver this course for teams of any size, tailored to your organisation’s context and objectives. Contact us to discuss your requirements.
Crisis Communication Strategy and Management focuses on preparation — building the plan, systems and resources before a crisis. This course focuses on execution — what to do when a crisis has broken and you need to manage the active communication response.
This course covers the full scope of managing communication during a crisis — messaging, media strategy, spokesperson deployment and coordination. Crisis Media Training focuses specifically on performing in crisis media interviews. Many organisations book both.
Nothing specific is required. If you have a current project, challenge or organisational context relevant to the course, bring it along — the practical exercises can incorporate real-world scenarios.