Every conversation is two conversations, says Dr. Nick Morgan, President of Public Words. The first, being our spoken words and the second being our body language. In fact, our body language – that second conversation – speaks very loudly to the unconscious mind of those we’re communicating with. So loudly that it’s the part of the conversation that people are most inclined to believe, especially if it contradicts the words being spoken.
This is particularly important for leaders and spokespeople to remember in a crisis. When you have the weight of high stakes communication on your shoulders, you absolutely want your presence, gestures and body language to affirm your words, rather than oppose them. Sometimes, something as simple and innocent as being nervous can make a person look shady and untrustworthy, not something you want to come across as, being the leader, spokesperson or PIO of a crisis. So then how can you make sure to master this second conversation to communicate even more effectively and compassionately in a crisis?
In this episode of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Nick Morgan, coach, speaker and writer on smart communications, to answer this very question. Within this conversation, Nick and I discuss the power of the second conversation and Nick reveals key tactics to help you master your subconscious body language to position yourself as a powerful, confident and trustworthy leader, especially when the stakes are high.
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Learn more about Nick Morgan
Follow Nick on Twitter: @DrNickMorgan
I highly recommend reading Nick’s book, Power Cues
Check out Nick’s company, Public Words
This post, TCIP #038 - Mastering Your Body Language for Crisis Leadership with Nick Morgan, originally appeared on melissaagnes.com.
In 2014, Ebola spread quickly throughout West Africa. In the second half of last year, BBC World News decided that they wanted to position themselves as a voice of credibility and leadership in this global crisis. Yes, that’s right. A world news organization wanted to help fight the crisis of Ebola. And they did. Successfully.
The story of how they did this, how they proactively leveraged technology and the art of story telling to successfully achieve this mission is fascinating and inspiring. In this week’s episode of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast, I sit down with Trushar Barot, the Apps Editor for BBC World Service and Global News, to discuss the strategy behind BBC’s WhatsAp Ebola Service. We discuss what worked and why, how they strategized their content (from their frequency of posting, to chosen file formats and more), the benefits that came out of this proactive endeavour and the biggest takeaways for your organization’s crisis communications.
It’s a truly great listen with tons of inspiration that can be applied to your crisis communications. Enjoy!
Have questions, comments or suggestions? Email melissa@melissaagnes.com
Subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes and/or Stitcher
Subscribe via email
Learn more about Melissa Agnes
Follow Melissa on Twitter: @melissa_agnes
Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn
Learn more about Agnes + Day’s crisis simulation platform and exercises.
Follow Trushar on Twitter: @Trushar
Learn more about BBC’s Ebola initiatives by connecting with them on Facebook
This post, TCIP #037 - BBC's WhatsApp Ebola Service with Trushar Barot, first appeared on melissaagnes.com.
Crisis simulations are an amazing way to test your crisis plan and strengthen your team’s crisis communication skills. I’ve been conducting crisis simulations for a few years now and the results that they bring to my clients never cease to amaze me.
That said, I often get asked questions like “how do I conduct a crisis simulation?”; “who should be involved in the exercise?”; “what should I test?”; etc. So I decided to dedicate this week’s episode of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast to answering these questions and helping those of you out there who are interested in conducting a crisis simulation, develop the best scenario and exercise you can for your team.
With me in this podcast is my friend and colleague, Garth Rowan. Garth and I work together quite often, combining our strengths to provide our clients with life-like simulations, so it made perfect sense that I would ask him to join me in this conversation. Within this episode, Garth and I have fun answering commonly posed questions, and we share our own experiences while detailing what makes for a great crisis simulation.
This post, TCIP #036 - How To Conduct a Crisis Simulation with Garth Rowan, was originally to melissaagnes.com
Rumors have existed since the beginning of human behavior. A good rumor is deep-seeded and hypnotic. A good rumor can launch an organization or public figure into a crisis that is not terribly easy to manage or overcome.
But what makes a good rumor and how can your organization best protect itself from this risky phenomenon?
Within this episode of The Crisis Intelligence Podcast, I sat down with Laurent Gaildraud, a consultant who specializes in the science of rumors. Laurent’s job and passion is in explaining how to destabilize any entity (economical, political, social, etc.) by spreading rumors. It’s the opposite of my job and passion, I know! I help organizations prevent risk and manage crises, while Laurent helps people create rumors to create crises. But that fascinated me on so many different levels.
As you listen to this podcast, you’ll notice that much of what Laurent explains about the science of rumors aligns perfectly with what you’ll often hear me say makes the recipe for a crisis that has the potential to go viral. He discusses the sociological enchantment that rumors hold and why we, as human beings, can become so enthralled in them.
This post, TCIP #035 - The Science of Rumors with Laurent Gaildraud, originally appeared on melissaagnes.com.