5 Strategies to Become the Best PR Specialist

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One career route that professional writers and communicators may choose to pursue is public relations (PR). Public relations specialists often help major corporations and public figures deal with crises in an appropriate manner. Crisis management has specific strategies, which were introduced to me in my class, Practical Studies in Damage Control. This class focuses specifically on understanding the responsibilities that come with becoming a PR specialist, specifically when they must deal with crises.

The following 5 strategies are essential to manage a crisis and to attempt to maintain a company or person’s reputation.

  1. Nonexistence Strategies

This is used when the organization/individual seeks to completely eliminate the crisis by refusing its existence. There are four types of nonexistence strategies:

  • Denial: The company/individual issues a simple statement saying that nothing happened; a crisis does not exist and they are not involved in any issue.
  • Clarification: The company/individual extends the denial strategy by attempting to explain why no crisis exists.
  • Attack: A more aggressive nonexistence strategy, as the organization/individual confronts those who incorrectly report that the nonexistent crisis exists. You must be very careful when using this strategy to avoid further complications or damage to a company or person’s reputation.
  • Intimidation: This is the most aggressive nonexistence strategy, as the organization/individual threatens to use its power against someone else. Lawsuits and physical violence are forms of intimidation.

  1. Distance Strategies

This involves accepting the crisis but weakening the link between the organization/individual and the crisis. There are two types of distance strategies:

  • Excuse: This is used to minimize the responsibility of the organization/individual during the crisis. Often businesses state that they did not intend to cause the crisis or direct the blame towards a third party.
  • Justification: The organization/individual attempts to diminish the damage associated with the crisis. Corporations will say that the crisis is not that bad and can be resolved. This includes denying the seriousness of an injury or stating that the victim deserved what happened to them.

  1. Ingratiation Strategies

These strategies are used when the organization/individual tries to gain public approval by behaving positively in public. There are three types of ingratiation strategies:

  • Bolstering: The organization/individual reminds the public about their existing positive deeds, such as previous contributions to charities or treating workers fairly in the past.
  • Transcendence: The organization/individual tries to shift the specifics of the crisis to a larger, abstract consideration of the crisis to make it seem more desirable in context. For example, three astronauts died in a NASA space excursion due to malfunction in the spaceship, but they died trying to discover more knowledge about the universe.
  • Praising Others: The organization/individual praises the target group or the individuals affected by the crisis, which creates a positive image for them.

  1. Mortification Strategies

These strategies are used to gain public forgiveness and acceptance of the crisis. There are three mortification strategies:

  • Remediation: The organization/individual willingly offers some form of compensation to those affected by the crisis. For example, a corporation gives advanced employment benefits to its workers after a crisis.
  • Repentance: The organization/individual simply asks for forgiveness. This lessens the crisis and creates acceptance by the public.
  • Rectification: This involves taking action to further prevent the crisis from emerging again. When using this strategy, companies usually create new policies and rules to protect people from future threats.

  1. Suffering Strategy

This is a separate strategy for which the organization/individual asks the public for sympathy, stating that they are victims to the deeds of an outside entity. This may first involve using distance strategies to shift the blame of the crisis on another party however, at the same time, the organization/individual attempts to create a positive image for themselves by also identifying as a victim in the crisis.

It is important to note that these strategies are not necessarily stated in order however, PR specialists usually advise organizations/individuals to use a combination of many of these strategies to manage the crisis and repair their reputation. These must be used with considerable knowledge of the crisis and honesty.

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