Intercultural communication teamwork and leadership/Negative and crisis communications/Overview and Objectives

Overview

Most businesses have to deal with criticism, negative news and crises from time to time. Effective and appropriate communication is essential to minimise the damage that such situations can do to the business and the distress they can cause for individuals within or outside the company.

It is worth bearing in mind that negative situations require communications with different sets of people, depending on the situation:

• Employees and colleagues
• External individuals or organisations with an existing relationship with the company (e.g. as customers, suppliers, project partners etc.)
• The "public", i.e. an unknown set of individuals and organisations who are interested in a company for varying reasons, and who are usually reached through traditional media (e.g. press releases and press conferences) and social media such as Twitter and Facebook.

In this learning pathway, we will explore effective ways to deliver and manage negative news for different audiences and situations. We will also consider the benefits of inviting honest, constructive feedback to prevent business problems.

Objectives

• Apply effective strategies to deliver negative workplace news.
• Prevent workplace problems by inviting feedback on concerns and issues.
• Describe the elements of a business crisis communication plan.
• Outline the purpose and key steps in managing press conferences.