The day Inside Edition called; one association's script on mastering crisis management offers some golden nuggets of advice.

One association's script on mastering crisis management offers some golden nuggets of advice.

Friday, February 23, 8:15 a.m. The Friday work day begins in the hallway before I reach the office front door. I'm flagged down by the executive director of the portable appliance division, John Jiambalvo, and special projects manager, Larry Forssberg. They use a "hate to start your day this way . . ." opener and then deliver the information that will rivet our attention for the next 28 hours.

Two member companies had called within minutes of each other at the close of the day Thursday. Each delivered the same message: Inside Edition, a syndicated television show, planned to air a segment the following Tuesday about the flammability of plastics used in portable appliances. Both companies had been invited to appear on camera because their products would be torched in laboratory "tests" as part of the segment. Both companies had declined the offer but referred the television producer to our association. They told us that they expected our organization, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), to "defend the industry."

8:25 a.m. The facts are easy to absorb, but I'm having trouble focusing on this unexpected crisis. My mind leaps to the fact that the featured speaker at today's staff meeting is a former board chair and the official representative of our largest member company. He had agreed to drive in from Michigan to tell the staff how his corporation evaluates the value and performance of the trade associations to which it belongs. We had been looking forward to the presentation. Canceling the staff meeting is not an attractive option.

I ask John and Larry to go to the staff conference room and say I'll be there shortly.

8:30 a.m. I pick up my presentation, check my messages, and head up to the staff meeting, remembering my intention to enroll in one of those "How to Handle the Media" seminars that, like so many good intentions, had been a victim of more immediate priorities.

8:45 a.m. The staff is assembled in the conference room. The featured speaker has not yet arrived; nor has our Washington staff delegation--which includes the engineer most knowledgeable on the Inside Edition story. John has just briefed the staff on this potential media crisis and there is some nervous joking about the lurid nature of some past features of the program. Larry Hayes, the staff vice president responsible for coordinating the staff training session, asks me if I want to cancel it. We agree, upon quick reflection, that we will proceed with the presentation by our board member, but a crisis management team will be pulled out of the meeting to focus on the Inside Edition situation.

8:55 a.m. I ask John Jiambalvo, then Communications Manager Tracy Haak, and Vice President of Technical Services Jack Weizeorick to join me back in the office as the crisis management team. I also plan to ask Wayne Morris, Washington technical director of regulatory affairs, to join the team when he arrives. (It looks like the weather is delaying both the Washington staff and our speaker.)

9 a.m. The crisis team assembles and we walk through the known facts. We then focus on determining our response options and what additional information is needed. Although we have been urged to "defend the industry" on camera, we include "do nothing" among the response options.

9:10 a.m. Wayne joins the meeting. He's a big help, having attended meetings between Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the industry safety testing organization, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on this subject. He also recently worked for a manufacturer of portable appliances and has expert knowledge on the engineering, considerations that go into the selection of materials.

Assignments are handed out. Tracy is to contact Inside Edition to see if there is an opportunity to present the manufacturing viewpoint and, if so, what the logistics and specific questions might be.

Wayne and Jack are asked to call key members of the industry committee on this subject to advise them of the recent development. They will also call UL and CPSC contacts to establish whether their organizations would be appearing in the show and what they could tell us about the situation.

John is delegated to draft faxes alerting the industry about the upcoming show and soliciting any information companies may have about it. He is also to set up a conference call for interested parties at 10:30 a.m.

Everybody scatters. I go to my office to read background minutes and memos on the subjects of plastic flammability and portable appliance safety standards.

9:30 a.m. I return to the staff meeting to find that our featured speaker has arrived and is well into his presentation. The audience looks appropriately enthralled and the speaker appears to be enjoying the spotlight.

He is making the point that our organization is the most highly valued of the company's business association memberships, but the company regularly drops association memberships if the organization doesn't deliver promised value. It's a good mix of carrot and stick.

10 a.m. and Tracy enter the conference room and beckon me outside. Time to pull the crisis team together again.

10:05 a.m. It has been a productive hour. Inside Edition is delighted to interview an industry spokesperson and will be on our doorstep tomorrow morning. The show segment will include information on two fatal fires attributed to electric appliances with plastic housings and will show appliances bursting into flames in laboratory tests. The tests include disengaging all safety components and igniting a "burn pill" on or in the appliance. Inside Edition would like our spokesperson to observe tapes of these tests and respond to questions. The program will not submit the questions in advance. The show will feature three portable appliances, one major appliance, and a baby monitor (not considered a home appliance by our association).

John reports that calls and faxes have not revealed any other companies contacted by Inside Edition. A conference call is scheduled for 10:30 a.m., and three companies will participate.

Wayne and Jack report that neither UL nor CPSC, have agreed to participate in the show. UL representatives refused to be interviewed because of a bad experience with an Inside Edition segment on Christmas tree lights last year.

The team quickly agrees that we will recommend in the conference call that we agree to the interview and that I be the spokesperson, both because of my title and the fact that I know enough to be knowledgeable but not so much that I would get bogged down in potentially confusing details. (Our staff engineers are more knowledgeable about safety standards, testing, and approvals.)

We spend the remaining time before the conference call (thank heavens for our own conference call bridge capability, because we don't lose time working with a provider) identifying and prioritizing key messages that we want to deliver in an interview.

10:30 a.m. We connect to the conference call bridge and participants begin to call in. There is nervous chitchat until everyone assembles. The company delegations are a combination of legal counsel, engineers, and marketing executives. The mood is tense. Rather than rehash the situation, we report the new information we have developed and our recommended course of action. There is quick support. Several participants express frustration that other organizations didn't step forward. (We asked for some volunteers to be available for follow-up calls in case I have questions.) Legal and engineering experts are identified and home telephone numbers exchanged.

Member companies' public relations professionals advise staff to identify no more than three talking points and, no matter what question is posed, to come back to those points.

They also ask us to arrange for our own filming of the interview. The companies want to see the interview tape before the show airs on Tuesday afternoon in Chicago.

We commit to circulating that afternoon the three talking points on which we will focus. Members are to contact us if they have problems with them, but their initial reaction is positive.

We will also circulate Monday morning a draft press release response in anticipation of reaction to the show. The companies contacted by Inside Edition agree to send us their own press releases.

A conference call the morning following the show's Tuesday Chicago airing is set. (The show airs on different days and at different times depending on the market.)

11::30 a.m. A new set of assignments is made to the crisis team. Tracy is to confirm the interview and logistics with Inside Edition. She is to ask again for the questions in advance (nothing ventured, nothing gained) and report that we will watch the tape of burning appliances, but the camera crew may not film us doing so. John is to alert the Society of the Plastics Industry.

Jack and Wayne are to begin drafting "tough questions" for a practice session. I will boil down our information into three talking points. We agree to reassemble in two hours.

Noon. The staff session ends and our member speaker is in my office. Larry Hayes congratulates him on an extremely useful presentation. We joke about my upcoming television appearance; then he says he'll "get out of my hair." (Thank you for simpatico members.)

12:15 p.m. I grab a desk lunch and begin to work on our talking points. Phone calls begin to come in from members and other organizations as the news spreads.

The most useful calls come from a company lawyer, who describes territory that needs to be avoided from the perspective of company liability, and from the public relations manager of the industry safety organization. He describes the reasons the organization chose not to be interviewed and offers to put me in contact with its public relations agency, which has a "coach" for hostile media interviews. Since we have no such resource, I welcome the offer.

I continue to refine our talking points and grow more comfortable with them.

Several calls come from the public relations agency. The account executive and coach won't be available until late afternoon. We exchange home phone numbers.

2 p.m. We reassemble the crisis team, supplemented by the two who are freed up from the staff meeting. I ask Larry Hayes to check our ASAE and CSAE (Chicago Society of Association Executives, known now as The Association Forum of Chicagoland) publication files and their Web sites for articles and publications on this kind of interview situation.

Wayne briefs us again on all we know about the plastics flammability issue.

Our information center librarian goes to work, searching for data on appliance fire safety and other relevant facts. We soon get a report back that the National Fire Protection Association's data shows a 15) year decline in fires related to appliances. (Hallelujah!)

We review the talking points and staff suggests additional, helpful refinement. We also incorporate the new data.

Tracy reports that an Inside Edition crew will be in our offices at 10 a.m. tomorrow. The show's producer was "very enthusiastic" about having a voice from industry in the segment. None of us know how to take that new.

We begin to "demonize" the Inside Edition crew and imagine catastrophe scenarios, but I ask for a halt. It isn't good for my morale.

Jack, Wayne, John, and Tracy put me through practice interview questions. Some questions are dauntingly challenging, and I stumble. It's hard to bring the questions around to the points we want to make. I begin to sense the trick of it and the tendencies I will have to control to be effective.

I learn to pause after the question is asked, rather than jumping in with an answer. I develop a rhythm of returning to our talking points at the end of every answer. I learn that short answers are less likely to lead me into dead-ends.

After awhile, the questions begin to be repetitive or so complex that none of us can figure them out. We've reached the point of limited return.

4:30 p.m. I return to my office. Larry Hayes has delivered a book from The Association Forum of Chicagoland on hostile interviews and some ASAE reprints. I begin to read them and find the sections on "demeanor during the interview" very helpful.

Much is common sense, but under stress, the reminders are needed. Pause before answering. Look the interviewer in the eye; don't glance away. Sit forward in your chair. Appear interested and engaged. Be conversational, not argumentative.

The public relations agency account executive calls and advises me of the hourly rate for coaching. We agree the coach should call. Unfortunately, the coach won't be available until after 7 p.m. She then asks me background questions and gives her opinion about the situation. It isn't very encouraging . . . of the "do your best variety."

My wife calls. Good antidote to the catastrophe mentality I am falling into. I tell her the news and she offers a stress massage tonight (she is a professional massage therapist) and assures me I will do well because "you always do." My confidence revives and I take note that my anxiety level is relatively low, in contrast to what it would have been a few years ago. Experience certainly has its advantages. I pack my folder of background materials and how-to primers in my briefcase and decide to continue my preparation at home.

6:30 p.m. Set up in my home office, I rework my talking points once again. They are in good shape, and I can state them smoothly or easily combine them into one answer. I'm reading background technical material when the agency coach calls. She is a former news show reporter whose name I recognize, but a face doesn't come to mind. She is very businesslike, but I hear children's voices in the background.

I have some specific questions about what to do if I feel the interview is not going well and I am losing it (obviously my confidence is ebbing) and suggestions for attire. She has good advice. "Don't storm out. Have a staff member come on camera and say there is an emergency phone call. Casual dress is OK; above all, don't dress like a lawyer."

We talk briefly about the interview subject and she asks to be excused, coming back on the phone explaining that her children are home and the sitter isn't. She sounds harried. We chat. One nugget of information emerges.

She urges me to "empower the users of appliances"--in other words, give the viewers some tips on how to protect themselves from the hazard that is presented. She explains that this will raise the likelihood that my interview will actually get on the air and transform the issue into a positive one.

We discuss the specific "empowering" message that I could give and she signs off abruptly saying: "Look, you sound like you know your subject and have had some experience; you'll do fine." (Maybe she is related to my wife.)

I'm now feeling up, and I like her empowering idea. I add a fourth talking point incorporating her message--urging concerned consumers to unplug appliances when not in use--and head downstairs for the promised massage.

10 p.m. Bedtime. I'm relaxed and feel I have done my preparation. My bedtime reading is the source book on hostile interviews. It advocates deep breathing before the interview. I'll have to remember that.

Saturday, February 24, 6 a.m.

Up until now, I've slept well. But now I am wide awake and know that staying in bed will be fruitless. I go to my home office with a cup of tea and my papers, and end up doing some breathing and stress management exercises my wife taught me.

8 a.m. I leave for the office. I'm getting eager to get the interview over with.

8:45 a.m. I'm the first one in the office. I realize I don't know how to make coffee in the new urn, but since I am a tea drinker I decide to leave the coffee to others. I wander around the office rather than prep for the interview. John and Jack arrive and ask if there is anything they can do. I ask Jack to double-check some safety statistics and invite John to sit with me in the conference room.

We talk casually and I loosen up my vocal chords by stating my talking points in a loud, cadenced voice. I repeat my deep breathing and stress management exercises. I feel ready.

9 a.m. Tracy arrives with "our" film cameraperson and a public relations consultant who will arrange for duplicating tapes. I discuss my coaches' suggestions and give Tracy my revised talking points for faxing to the members on Monday. Everyone is supportive of the fourth "empowering" point.

Small talk makes me nervous and I retire to my office.

10 a.m. An interviewer, producer, and two technicians from Inside Edition arrive. Everyone is earnest and friendly. Introductions proceed and we quickly agree to do the interview in my office from two guest chairs. They ask permission to rearrange the furniture and we retire to a conference room to watch the tapes of burning appliances while the setup proceeds. The tapes are viewed and some questions asked of us. The questions give me a chance to practice, mentally, my mantra of talking points, but I try to leave responses to Jack and John. The tapes are also unsettling.

10:30 a.m. It's time to start. We are fitted for mikes and a sound check is taken. Friendly chitchat with their interviewer. Or are they lulling me to sleep? Then, suddenly, we are off.

So far, so good. Having trouble pausing before answering. Don't nod as he asks questions. Bring it back to your points. Empower the viewer.

Then it's over.

As abruptly as we started, the interview has concluded. I'm a little dazed. Then a question from the off-camera producer. Am I still on? I answer, but am not sure of the situation. Another question from the interviewer and I ask if we are still on-camera. The answer is yes. Back to my mantra responses.

Now it's really over. We joke with the cameraperson. The Inside Edition crew begins to dismantle things. Both the interviewer and producer seem pleased. Bad sign?

Epilogue: Members write letters and phone to compliment us on our performance. We seem to have struck gold with the empowering message, which Inside Edition did, indeed, focus on. Companies specifically mentioned on the show receive a few calls from concerned consumers and AHAM receives none. Fears of a sales dip are also unrealized. We feel we did our job in diluting and deflecting possible criticism of the industry and in minimizing damage that could have resulted from the Inside Edition program.

Much to our surprise, the television show 20/20 opts to do a similar story on the same topic a few months later. At least this time around, we have about five days to get ready. I have the basic drill down, but I still find my second "on-camera" experience to be no less intimidating because I now truly understand how difficult this job is. Despite my misgivings, the -20/20 show turns out to be just as successful for AHAM and the industry as the Inside Edition episode. The empowering message once again receives considerable play, which clinches for me the critical importance of this positive technique in dealing with the media.

Editor's note: AHAM staff members acted as models to help illustrate tips provided in this article.

RELATED ARTICLE: Tips on Managing the Media

Don't get caught could if a television show wants to interview an association spokesperson at the last minute. Here's some advice on how to lay the groundwork for a successful on-camera experience.

* Consult with members to ascertain their concerns and goals.

* Form a staff crisis management team that can provide guidance in public relations, technical expertise, and legal matters. Appoint one person to act as a liaison with the program's representatives.

* Seek input from member companies' legal and public relations professionals on the most productive path to pursue. Review any press releases prepared individually by member companies to spot any potentially valuable information or strategies that can be of use to the association.

* Check available resources for information on "how to conduct an interview." Practice suggested pointers, such how to pause before answering questions.

* If possible, hire the services of a consultant who specializes in coaching for hostile media interviews.

* Ask the association staff to refrain from engaging in discussions of worst-case scenarios to keep morale high.

* Boil down key information to three to four talking points that you will return to as often as possible during the interview. One of the points needs to be an "empowering message" that gives viewers positive "here's what you can do to cope" information. Get comfortable with your message and the issue. Circulate the talking points to members and ask for feedback.

* Hold practice session in which staff pose tough interview questions.

* Prepare yourself personally for the interview by getting plenty of rest of the night before, practicing deep breathing exercises, and talking about the stress of the upcoming interview with trusted confidant.

* Know the tricks of their trade so that you can negotiate the best possible interview situation. For example, only allow filming during the actual interview. Ask not to be filmed during setup shots because such-of-context shots can be used to your disadvantage. Similarly, if the program wants you to view a videotape of a negative incident, don't allow yourself to be filmed while doing so.

* Be up-front with the producer. If you've heard rumors that the program regularly tries to "ambush" interviewees, tell the producer you're concerned about this happening to you. Most programs don't provide questions in advance, but it doesn't hurt to keep asking.

* Make you own tape of the interview.

* Enroll in a crisis management seminar at your earliest opportunity.

Robert L. Holding is president of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers Chicago.