Tabletop scenario training for real crises

As a comms leader, you can help guard your organization against risk, and protect your reputation, when you know which levers to pull and channels to pursue when a crisis hits. That’s why it’s imperative that your teams receive consistent, periodic scenario training to execute their duties when the stakes are the highest.

The fact of the matter is that there isn’t one best way to get a team ready for when your best-laid comms plans might fall by the wayside. It’s on communicators to put the right procedures in place and practicing them through immersive tabletop exercises can give them hands-on preparation to act in real time and standardizes a template that everyone can follow to prevent them from freezing up of unexpected events.

Creating a crisis management plan

As the scouts say, it’s always best to be prepared. Putting together a plan is one of the most important things a team of communicators can do, as we answer to internal and external stakeholders alike. But the big question is — where do you start?

The first part of the process is determining the people you want in the war room with you if a crisis arises. You’ll need people who are able to strategize about the impacts of the crisis internally and the fallout it might cause externally.