Crisis Communications Readiness

Act swiftly and surely – with
crisis communications training

Are your people prepared for the pressure cooker of a serious data breach or social media storm? Do they have the skills to communicate confidently and effectively when your reputation is on the line? Introducing Crisis Communications Readiness – a tailored, full-day course for inhouse teams. This hands-on training will equip your team with tools to respond fast, communicate clearly – and protect your brand under the harshest spotlight.

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A man in an interview

Why crisis communications training?

When a crisis erupts, every minute matters. If your team hesitates – or responds in haste without a clear strategy? Rumours will fill the gaps. Your audience will lose confidence. And the story will get written for you. 

By communicating strategically – internally and externally – you reduce disruptions, control the narrative and move faster from response to recovery.

Here’s what crisis communications training means for your organisation:

  • Protected reputation and capital: You will safeguard brand trust with the public – as well as your investors, clients, regulators and future hires.
  • Reduced financial fallout: It costs 42x more to mop up a crisis than to prepare for one (FleishmanHillard).
  • Shortened disruptions and downtime: Your organisation will move from incident to stabilisation faster with clear roles and decision paths.
  • Resources allocated efficiently: Everyone will know who does what, when and what to pause – long before a crisis eventuates.
Man working on his desktop computer at work

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for professionals who need to plan for, lead and deliver crisis communications – including:

  • Internal communications teams who want to build a usable crisis playbook with templates and clear protocols.
  • C‑suite executives who must align legal, risk, HR and operations teams around a single, defensible narrative.
  • Founders and senior leaders who need to front the media and brief stakeholders.
  • Mid‑career comms professionals stepping into crisis lead or spokesperson roles.
  • Advisers and consultants who guide clients through high‑stakes issues.

The course is relevant to (and can be tailored for) organisations across a wide range of sectors – including corporate, education, government and not-for-profit.

Group of professionals in a meeting

What does this crisis communications course cover?

Your team will learn how to navigate high-stakes situations to protect your brand reputation and keep from ballooning wildy out of control. 

This crisis communications course will equip your team with the skills to:

  • Prepare for and respond effectively to brand-damaging PR incidents  
  • Develop a crisis communications plan to protect your business
  • Communicate with stakeholders throughout a crisis effectively
  • Develop messaging that connects with audiences – and limits legal exposure
  • Manage media enquiries and interviews with confidence

Packed with practical examples and interactive activities, this training shows you how to identify reputation risks, contain negative sentiment and move from response to recovery – and retain your credibility.

EXPLORE RELATED COURSES:

Caroline Voaden

How is the course delivered?

We run this crisis communications workshop face-to-face. As always, it will be:

  • Relevant: Your course will be tailored to your training objectives and organisation’s needs.
  • Inspiring: Your team will walk away with a new perspective, more confidence – and loads of new skills!
  • Interactive & engaging: A great morale booster, your team will enjoy the practical activities, interactions… and leave feeling more confident in their skills and more connected to each other.
  • Flexible: Delivered at your office on a day and time that suits you.

Quick-fire FAQs

Who will be the facilitator at our workshop?

At CSA, all our facilitators are subject matter experts in their fields. 

The course is presented by experienced strategic communications expert Caroline Voaden. With clients across the UK and Australia, Caroline has advised listed multimillion-dollar businesses through a variety of sensitive situations.

She’s a firm believer the best crisis communications response is the one you don’t have to prepare for. It’s an ethos she’s taken into work when preparing and training listed corporates for a range of PR issues that risk eroding hard-won trust.

What’s the maximum number of participants per workshop?

We cap face-to-face sessions at 15 people – as groups any larger than this reduce opportunities for interaction and feedback.

So if you have more people to train than this, please ask us about our special rate for multiple workshops.

What is the structure of the course?

Please contact us for a full Program Outline. In the meantime, here’s a high-level outline:

  • What is a crisis?
  • Which crises are the most damaging?
  • The role of the media in a crisis
  • How to preempt a crisis 
  • Timing and clarity
  • How to communicate effectively with your stakeholders
  • Developing response statements
  • Engaging with journalists
  • Putting theory into practice with a live crisis scenario

But let us stress: we will tailor the workshop to your needs. 

And remember: we encourage lots of dialogue and discussion – and work hard to get everyone involved.

What do we get for our investment?
  • Tailored, hands-on training for 15 of your team members
  • A workbook for each participant (also a valuable reference long after the workshop is over)
  • A handy one-page of media protocols for your team to keep by their side when managing media enquiries
How do you charge?

We charge a fixed fee for groups of 15 people, not per head. That’s why we always encourage our clients to take advantage of all spots for maximum value.

And remember: all workshops are tailored to your needs at no added cost.

Please contact us for a customised quote for your workplace.

Do you offer a credential for this course?

Yes! All your team members will be entitled to a Credly digital badge after they complete this course. At the end of the session, we will send a digital badge to each participant via email. They can then display the badge on their LinkedIn profile and on any other places they wish.

Ready to protect your brand under the harshest spotlight?

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