Crisis Communications Virtual Conference

Our latest benchmark survey found that “crisis and issue management” is rising to the top as an essential skill to future-proof communication. We’ll dig into the results—and action items together.

Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) can paralyze your culture—or become a springboard for innovation and inclusion. Join us to see how to fuse change-management science with crisis-readiness so your workforce can pivot when turbulence hits. You’ll learn how to turn everything from ERGs and listening circles into rapid-response engines, rewrite legacy hierarchies that muffle feedback and embed adaptability organization-wide. We’ll cover:

• Cultural Foundations: How to replace reactive mindsets with anticipatory crisis literacy, psychological safety and transparent comms with the help of ERGS and listening loops. 
• VUCA Reframing: A simple framework for flipping volatility into innovation and ambiguity into collaborative problem-solving—so every pocket of the workforce helps shape crisis solutions.
• Change Models: How Kotter’s 8‐Step Change Management Model and ADKAR cycles can help accelerate urgency, secure buy‐in and sustain behavioral shifts across diverse teams.
• Agile Sprints: How to deploy two- to five-week “voice-first” sprints that unite cross-functional war rooms with ERG insights for rapid course-corrections.
• Mixternal Matters: How to step out of comms silos to champion readiness across all channels—aligning execs, managers and grassroots groups around a single, inclusive playbook.

Crisis drills and media training are often neglected until disaster strikes—leaving leaders unprepared for the public eye. Join us to see how to conduct realistic tabletop exercises, equip spokespeople with confidence and refine your messaging under pressure. By practicing in advance, you’ll reduce panic, streamline approvals and respond with credibility when the spotlight hits. You’ll learn:

• Hot Seat Winners: Traits of strong crisis spokespeople—and how to ensure you’re putting the right person in the line of fire. 
• Drilling into Drills: How to plan effective tabletop exercises, from scenario selection and role assignments to real-time messaging simulations.
• Message Maps: Tips to train execs, SMEs and front-liners to deliver empathetic soundbites—plus a crisis “cheat sheet” with Q&A docs, approval hierarchies and brand voice alignment.
• Bridging & Pivots: Tactics for steering hostile questions back to your key messages—maintaining composure and credibility under fire.
• Murder Board Simulation: Adapted from congressional prep, we’ll hold a hot‐seat exercise with probing questions to test what you learned—and your ability to pivot under pressure.

Negative headlines and social media outrage can escalate a small misstep into a full‐blown reputation meltdown. In this session, we’ll showcase a case study on how smart PR tactics, the right spokesperson, transparent public statements and timely social media can transform a brewing crisis into a reputation win. The real‐world outcomes and frameworks you learn will give you a roadmap to keep external audiences informed and supportive when “it” hits the fan. We’ll cover:

• Early Signals: How to identify the first social media warning signs, address misinformation before it spirals and gauge each escalation stage.
• Social Media Playbooks: The viral effect across top channels—what happens when narratives take on a life of their own—and when to activate crisis‐specific social media guides.
• Media Meets AI: Smart ways to handle tough press inquiries while combating manipulated narratives, bad news and falsehoods amplified by AI.
• Influencer Leverage: Surprising lessons for tapping influencers and brand advocates to counter negative coverage and restore public trust.
• Dashboard Confessional: A behind‐the‐scenes look at the integrated media and social dashboard—tracking real‐time sentiment, shaping swift corrections and restoring credibility.

Deepfakes, bot swarms and algorithm-warping propaganda now erupt in minutes—long before a “defend” posture can kick in. This forward-leaning panel reframes crisis tech as early-warning radar—not just a fire hose. You’ll learn how top brands are shifting from short-term content fixes to long-view risk intelligence—investing in tools, talent and training that spot narrative threats early, fortify trust and keep you on the front foot. You’ll learn:

• Mindshift to Front-Foot Risk: How to swap a defensive stance for proactive narrative intelligence—so you can seize the initiative before bad actors do.
• Today’s Digital Threatscape: From mis-, dis- and mal-information to deepfakes, voice-clone scams, bot swarms and LLM poisoning—how to know exactly what you’re up against.
• Front-Foot Tech Stack & Mapping: How to select the best cross-platform listening suites, deep-fake detectors and vendors—while surfacing your top three vulnerable storylines.
• Community Early-Warning: How to identify high-risk forums, build relationships now and arm local advocates with counter-content before rumors flare.
• People, Process & Proof: How to stand up a risk pod, drill with security and data teams, and unpack use cases that turned early detection into trust wins.

We’ll share the top tactics and strategies from the virtual conference as you prepare to implement these ideas for your organization.