Global

PR crisis communications: Planning, media readiness and ethical practice

A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 10 details that are specific to your organisation.

See the live deckSee the full outline
Try the coursePreview the survey
Length
40 min
Lessons
6 lessons
Frequency
At onboarding for comms staff
Last reviewed
21 Oct 2026
Stakeholders and messages under pressure
What would you do?

The oat bar labelling error

Try it: this is one of 19 interactive activities in the course.

What's included

Three pieces that work together

Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.

Self-paced course

Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.

  • 6 lessons, about 40 minutes
  • Scenario, accordion, sorting activity, flashcards and quizzes

Live session deck

An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.

  • 10 slides
  • Quiz, word cloud, poll, ranking slides
  • A closing slide for your contacts

Two surveys

Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.

  • Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
  • 30-day check-in
  • Anonymous by default
  • Results feed your next refresher

Learning objectives

At the end of this course, learners can

Each objective and the lesson that covers it.

IDObjectiveSourceWhere it's covered
TO 285.0Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessment-Whole course
SO 285.1Describe the parts of a crisis communications plan: risks, roles, escalation and approval + your infoBest practiceWhole course
SO 285.2Map stakeholders and rank who to inform first in the opening hourBest practiceWhole course
SO 285.3Draft a holding statement that is honest, brief and does not speculateBest practiceWhole course
SO 285.4Prepare a spokesperson for a difficult interview, including a request for information that may be misleadingBest practiceWhole course
SO 285.5Apply honesty, transparency and conflict-of-interest principles from professional codes of ethics, and measure communications outcomes sensiblyPRSA and CIPR codes of ethics [unverified]; AMEC Barcelona Principles 3.0 [unverified]Whole course

Your part: what a template can't do for you

  • Your workplace details: fill in the 10 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
  • Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.

Course outline

6 lessons, about 40 minutes

Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.

ContentInteractiveVideoYou customise
1

Why the first hour decides the story

3 pages

7 min
Before you beginNoteList
A Friday afternoonTextImage
What would you do first?ChecklistKey factQuiz
2

Planning: risks, roles and escalation

3 pages

7 min
What a plan holdsAccordion
Incident, issue or crisisSorting activity
CheckFlashcardsMatching quiz
3

Stakeholders and messages under pressure

3 pages

7 min
Who needs to knowTabs
First-hour orderScenario
The three-part messageProcessNoteQuiz
4

Media relations and interview readiness

3 pages

7 min
The basicsAccordion
The difficult questionFlashcards
PracticeScenarioMulti-select quiz
5

Ethics and the grey areas

3 pages

7 min
Principles from the codesTabsNote
Where would you draw the line?Sorting activity
CheckMatching quizScenario
6

Simulate, measure and learn

2 pages

5 min
Your next stepsProcessYour infoYour infoYour infoYour infoNote
PracticeQuizKey factNoteButtonYour info

Live deck and surveys

10 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop

Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.

ContentTitle, agenda, "all invented examples; nothing here is real
Word cloudWhat is the first word that comes to mind when the phone rings and it is the press?
PollDoes your team have a written crisis plan with named roles?
ContentThe three-part message (what we know, what we are doing, what you should do); the first-hour checklist
QuizA holding statement should… (Confirm what is known, say what is being done, promise an update ✔; assign blame early; give the full cause; deny until proven)
QuizThe reporter calls with a wrong favourable figure. You… (Correct it and give the right figure or say you will check ✔; say "no comment"; let it stand; wait to be asked twice)
RankingRank who to inform in the first hour
ScaleHow confident are you giving a short interview in a crisis?
Open-ended / Q&AA crisis question you would like to rehearse
Content · customiseClosing {{HELP_CONTACT}}, {{SURVEY_2_URL}}, {{COURSE_URL}}
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
  1. Overall rating 5 stars
  2. Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
  3. What was most useful? multi-select
  4. Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
  5. Which scenario was most useful? multiple choice
  6. How confident are you giving a short interview when asked a difficult question? 1-5 scale
  7. Which should the refresher focus on? ranking
  8. I feel safe challenging a wording or decision I think is misleading. 1-5 scale
  9. One thing we should change or add open text
  10. Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
  1. Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
  2. How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
  3. Do you know where to find the crisis communications plan and approval route? yes / no / not sure
  4. A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
  5. Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking

Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.

Make it yours

10 fields to fill in, and you're ready

Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.

  • Help contact{{HELP_CONTACT}}
  • Policy link{{POLICY_LINK}}
  • Escalation route{{ESCALATION_ROUTE}}
  • The organisation's crisis communications plan{{CRISIS_PLAN_LINK}}
  • Next course link{{NEXT_COURSE_LINK}}
  • LMS or record system{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}}
Show all 10 fields
  • Survey 1 URL{{SURVEY_1_URL}}
  • Survey 2 URL{{SURVEY_2_URL}}
  • Course URL{{COURSE_URL}}
  • Live session URL{{LIVE_SESSION_URL}}

FAQ

Common questions

Can I run PR crisis communications: Planning, media readiness and ethical practice training online?

Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.

How often is this training needed?

At onboarding for comms staff, annually before the crisis plan is reviewed, and after any incident or near miss.

Who needs this training?

PR and communications professionals, including in-house comms managers and agency account teams; variant for junior staff new to media relations; run by L&D with corporate communications, brand and legal teams.

What records should I keep?

Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.

Can I edit the content?

Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.

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Last reviewed: 21 October 2026Templates are a starting point, not legal advice.

Ready to run it?

Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.

See the live deck