The Crisis PR Spin Doctor
PR agency lead advising your company to issue a technically true but deliberately misleading statement in a genuine crisis -- and he has a deadline.
20 min
Duration
About this persona
Daniel Ross runs the crisis practice at a major PR firm. He has managed seventeen product recalls, four executive scandals, and two regulatory enforcement actions. He is very good at what he does. What he is advising right now is technically defensible and ethically corrosive: a statement that is true in every individual sentence and deeply misleading in its overall effect. He has a press deadline in three hours. He is confident. He needs your sign-off. Getting out of this requires both the skill to identify specifically what is wrong with the statement and the standing to redirect a seasoned professional who thinks he is saving you.
Scenario
Your company has a product safety issue that has affected a small number of customers. Daniel is advising you to approve a statement before the 6 PM news cycle. The statement is technically accurate and strategically misleading.
Skills tested
- ethical decision-making under pressure
- pushing back on expert advice
- identifying the difference between technically true and honest
- holding a position against deadline urgency
- redirecting without alienating a necessary resource
What you'll practice
- How to identify spin in language that appears factual
- Why the short-term protection of a misleading statement creates long-term liability
- How to push back on expert advice from a position of lower status
- What an honest crisis statement actually looks like, and how to get there
Personality traits
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