Crises are opportunities for top executives to demonstrate leadership. How CEOs speak (or don’t) during a crisis can affect reputations, stakeholder trust, market value, and careers. In these pressure-filled moments, staffs may be called upon to advise senior executives on whether they should say anything, what to say, and how to say it.
Every second counts in a crisis, which is why businesses leaders should ensure that their staffs know how to write statements and speeches when working under tight deadlines. “The best way to prepare for a crisis is to get your process down,” Steven Kelly, a former chief speechwriter for Vice President Kamala Harris, told me in an email interview.
That means knowing how CEOs and other senior executives prefer to go from drafting ideas to drafting final copy. Corporate staffs should “work to make that process as simple and streamlined as possible, so when something hits the fan, [they] can move quick. When it does, the first question you should ask is ‘Do we have to say something?’ And the second question should be ‘Really?’ One of the biggest problems in a crisis is too many people speaking in too many different directions, all at once. Speak if you need to. If you don’t, don’t,” he advised.
Knowing how to listen is a requisite for knowing how to write a speech for someone else. “Great writing always comes from great listening…listening to what your boss wants to say and how they want to say it. And listening to your audience,” Kelly counseled.
Lead with empathy
When it comes time to write the speech or statement, lead with empathy for any people or groups that are impacted by the crisis. “Regardless of the situation, someone feels affected, and showing empathy signals it is being taken seriously. The issue should be acknowledged directly. The statement does not need to be apologetic or admit fault (unless that is appropriate for the situation), but acknowledgment is vital to establishing trust and confidence,” Jessica Whidt, managing director at Warner Communications, told me in an email message.
End draft remarks with a call to action—or an outline of what will or should be done next. Be as transparent as appropriate and possible about the steps that will be needed to resolve situations, such as investigations, personnel changes, and updating protocols and policies. “Keep the tone warm, but confident and direct. The CEO should sound (and be) fully informed of the situation, empathetic to anyone affected, and focused on executing a fix or mitigation swiftly,” she recommended.
One of the biggest mistakes
One of the biggest mistakes in preparing remarks for executives is to make them sound antiseptic, generic, or AI-generated.
“Audiences feel that instantly—overly-polished language reads as evasive or defensive. My approach is always clarity first, humanity second, optics third. Before drafting, we evaluate the core issue: what actually occurred, who is affected, and what the consequences are,” Alexandria Hurley, head of public relations for Cirrus Aviation Services, told me via email.
She does not recommend deflecting, minimizing, or shifting blame for a crisis, which “erodes trust faster than the crisis itself. The language should acknowledge impact, avoid legalistic coldness, and sound like the CEO on their most grounded day.”
Strive to have CEOs come across as human and humble “In a crisis, stakeholders need to know that there is a real person at the top who genuinely cares about the people affected. Do not let the lawyers beat the humanity out of the CEO’s statement. Stay humble. You will feel pressure to assert control and give answers, but many details are unknown. Remember, what you say on Day 1 must hold true on Day 30, or your credibility will suffer. If legal issues are involved, everything could come out eventually, so avoid absolutes like ‘never’ and ‘always,’” Pete Weissman, a former speechwriter to the chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company, told me in an email interview.
Practice, practice, practice
Teams that practice working together to craft remarks for executives can help ensure that they speak with one voice. “When both legal and PR know their roles and prepare ahead, the result is faster, more confident communication that helps maintain trust. Regular practice, openness in processes, and shared responsibility for reputational and regulatory risks make all the difference,” Anderson Lunsford, an attorney and founder of BreachRX, which automates responses to privacy and data breach incidents, told me in an email message.
Companies can fail to get their CEO’s comments out about a crisis in a strategic, effective, and efficient manner because their teams are out of sync. “They fail to align their messages during fast-moving crises because they are using disjointed communications platforms and [have] not practiced working together. From extensive incident response experience, I have seen that having legal and PR review issues side by side and communicating updates quickly is critical. The first few hours right after a breach or incident are particularly fragile; teams that use that time to stay transparent and control the narrative avoid much of the confusion and negative fallout from media and customers,” according to Lunsford.
Now’s the time to establish, test, and update a process for writing crisis-related speeches and statements. The protocols can ensure that when organizations are in the spotlight, their leaders will be ready to say the right thing, in the right way.