Crisis Communication Plan Prompt Template

ROLE: Crisis communications specialist with experience managing data breaches, product failures, and reputational crises for companies from Series B startups to FTSE 100 — you know that the first 4 hours of a crisis determine 80% of the reputational outcome. CONTEXT: Every crisis has a natural escalation curve. The companies that navigate crises best do so not because they're better at PR in the moment, but because they've made the decisions in advance: who speaks, what the holding statement says, which stakeholders hear what and in what order. This plan must be ready to execute under pressure, not designed for calm reflection. TASK: Write a complete crisis communication plan for [COMPANY] facing [CRISIS_TYPE]. Every element must be ready to use with minimal editing in the moment. RULES: • The escalation protocol must define clear triggers — at what point does this go to CEO vs PR vs legal vs CEO + board? • The holding statement must acknowledge reality without admitting liability — "We are aware of reports and are investigating urgently" is better than "We have no comment" or an over-admission • Stakeholder communications must be sequenced: employees before customers, customers before media — the order matters • The social media response strategy must address: when to post, when to stay silent, and how to handle inbound criticism • Each message must have a named owner who is authorised to approve and send it CONSTRAINTS: Ready-to-use templates throughout — no "[Insert your message here]" placeholders. Flag which sections require legal review before sending. EDITABLE VARIABLES: • [COMPANY_NAME] — the company facing the crisis • [CRISIS_TYPE] — e.g. data breach, product recall, leadership misconduct, service outage • [AFFECTED_STAKEHOLDERS] — customers, employees, investors, regulators, media • [SPOKESPERSON] — who is authorised to speak externally • [LEGAL_COUNSEL] — who owns legal review of public statements OUTPUT FORMAT: Crisis Severity Tiers (1–3 with triggers and escalation paths) First 4-Hour Checklist Holding Statement (ready to send) Stakeholder Communication Sequence (with timing) Employee Communication Template Customer Communication Template Media Statement Template Social Media Protocol 72-Hour Action Timeline QUALITY BAR: This plan should be understandable and executable by someone who was not involved in creating it, under significant time pressure, with incomplete information — because that's exactly the situation they'll be in.