What is Crisis Management Training?

Crisis management training can mean a lot of different things. Our range of services prepare brands and give them the tools to handle any situation with the potential to bring your reputation down skillfully and strategically.

Crisis Management Training Services

Media Training

Speaking with any important audience is difficult in a crisis, even for those with experience. Whether you’re facing angry event attendees demanding refunds or a reporter set on writing a sensational story at your expense, we recommend that any organization preparing for crisis management trains (and regularly re-trains) approved company spokespeople in order to be ready to communicate about negative situations.

Media training helps clients develop and refine key messages, and their public speaking skills, to see what actually works during realistic, and often stressful, simulated interviews. This training improves public speaking abilities under pressure and optimizes the chances of ensuring any given audience — reporters, upset shareholders, or your own employees, for example — walks away from a discussion with the best impression possible.

Most media training sessions begin with an educational overview addressing things anyone preparing to speak to the media or engage in difficult conversations with stakeholder groups needs to know. This includes:

• How members of the media approach stories and prepare for your interview.
• Key messages – how to create them, and how to make sure people walk away remembering these critical points.
• Bridging techniques – how to say what you want, regardless of the question.
• Differences between interview formats (what changes between recorded and live, or in-person and via webcam?).
• Reporter’s tricks and tips to avoid falling into a trap or being led into a troublesome statement.
• The importance of practice and rehearsal.

After the educational overview participants have the opportunity to practice with mock interviews conducted by a Bernstein Crisis Management media training expert based on a topic or topics of their choice. We believe all participants need to engage in at least three full simulated interviews, receiving active feedback and coaching along the way, in order to establish a baseline for their spokesperson skillset.

Training sessions can range from half-day executive sessions to full-day or multi-day scenario-based exercises. Most sessions be delivered in-person or remotely, and can be recorded for later review if desired.

If you’re interested in learning more about media training options, or receiving a quote for a custom package, contact us today.

Crisis Team Training

You’ve created crisis plans but your people need the skills to use them. From training for specific roles to full-team exercises we can ensure your plans are workable, and that your team has the skills to use them under pressure.

Crisis Management Best Practices Training Session

Our training sessions range from full-day interactive workshops, delivered in-person, to luncheon presentations delivered via video conference. Some of the practices discussed in depth are epitomized in Jonathan Bernstein’s classic article, “30 Lessons from 30 Years of Crisis Management.”

Social Media Crisis Management Training

From our two-hour overview to in-depth training and drills, we can prepare your team to handle social media crisis management.

Customized Training Sessions

Many clients choose to have custom sessions built to fit their needs. Please get in touch with one of our crisis experts to discuss available options.

Best Practices in Crisis Management eLearning Course

Created by the global crisis management experts at Bernstein Crisis Management in partnership with TEAM Solutions,  the Best Practices in Crisis Management Online Training Course is designed for people who understand the reality of a crisis happening in the world and want to be prepared. Course includes:

• • Best in class education broken down into 5 Lessons, 7 topics, 1 quiz
  • 1 full year of access from any device, any where, any time
  • Easy to understand and follow “Best Practices”
  • Built-in note-taking app for capturing and saving key concepts
  • 2 free, downloadable quick-reference cheat sheets. To learn more, click here.