No one loves an emergency, but we have to be ready for one
No one comes to work hoping for a crisis.
Staff at cities, special districts, nonprofits and community-serving organizations don’t plan their days around wildfires, water main breaks, safety incidents, cyberattacks, infrastructure failures or viral misinformation. Yet anyone who has spent time in public service or the nonprofit space knows this truth: emergencies don’t come with a schedule. They arrive unannounced, emotionally charged and under intense public scrutiny.
While no one welcomes an emergency, the communities, customers and stakeholders we serve expect preparedness when one happens. In today’s media environment, information often spreads faster than facts can be verified. Within minutes of an unexpected event, reporters are calling, social media speculation is building, and residents, clients or community partners are demanding answers.
When organizations struggle in these moments, it’s rarely because staff don’t care or lack expertise. It’s because decisions are being made under pressure without a clear framework. Questions like these surface quickly, and the answers shape how effectively and confidently an organization responds:
Who is authorized to speak on behalf of the organization?
What information can be shared now, and what must wait?
How do we acknowledge concern without speculating or assigning blame?
How do we coordinate across departments, boards, partners or jurisdictions so messages don’t conflict?
Without preparation, even well-intentioned responses can create confusion, erode trust or introduce unnecessary risk.
Preparedness is about clarity, not scripts.
Effective crisis communication isn’t about memorizing talking points or predicting every possible scenario. It’s about establishing clarity—roles, responsibilities and workflows—before an emergency occurs.
Prepared organizations invest time upfront to define expectations and decision-making pathways long before they’re needed. This includes:
Clear internal protocols outlining who leads communications, where approvals come from and how information flows
Pre-approved messaging frameworks that prioritize empathy, accuracy and transparency over perfection
Media response guidelines that help staff respond quickly without overcommitting or speculating
Escalation thresholds so teams know when an issue requires executive leadership, board involvement, legal review or external support
These guardrails create alignment and allow teams to respond with confidence when time and emotions are in short supply.
Training matters as much as the plan.
Even the strongest crisis communications plan will sit unused if staff don’t feel prepared to apply it.
Media training, for example, isn’t just for city managers, executive directors or communications staff. Unexpected situations often place department heads, program leads, technical experts or on-scene staff in front of cameras, microphones or social media audiences. Without training, people may default to defensiveness, over-explanation or assumptions that don’t hold up under public scrutiny.
Effective preparation includes:
Training staff to stay calm, credible and human under pressure
Helping subject-matter experts translate complex or sensitive issues into plain language
Practicing responses to tough or emotionally charged questions
Reinforcing how tone, body language and pacing influence trust
Confidence comes from practice. It’s not accidental.
Trust is built before the emergency.
During a crisis, organizations draw on trust they’ve already earned—or quickly discover where it’s lacking.
Communities are more forgiving of incomplete information when organizations communicate early, show empathy and commit to ongoing updates. Silence, inconsistency and mixed messages erode confidence quickly.
Prepared organizations understand that crisis communication isn’t separate from day-to-day communication. The transparency and responsiveness stakeholders experience year-round set the tone for how emergencies are perceived.
Be prepared, not paranoid.
Preparing for emergencies doesn’t mean expecting the worst. It means honoring the responsibility that comes with serving the public and community.
No one loves an emergency. But when the unexpected happens, communities deserve organizations that are ready—clear on their roles, confident in their messages and grounded in trust.
If you’d like to strengthen your organization’s preparedness, consider one of our on-site trainings (half-day or full-day), with optional on-camera practice designed to help teams get comfortable answering questions on the fly and staying on message when it matters most.