Clarity Solutions
  • Home
  • Training Programs
    • Media Training >
      • Media Essentials
      • Managing Your Media Performance
      • 30 Minutes with the Media
      • Media Crisis Plans that Work
    • Crisis Training >
      • Crisis Essentials
      • Crisis Workout
      • Crisis Fundamentals
    • Executive Coaching >
      • What To Expect
    • Presentation Skills
    • Strategic Communication >
      • High Stakes Speech and Presentation Skills
      • Speech & Presentation Skills
      • Strategic Conversations
      • Communicate Leadership
    • Thought Leadership
    • Social Media
  • Resource Hub
    • Interview Tips
    • Crisis Media Tips
    • Visual Language >
      • Memorable One-Liners
    • Dressing For Television
    • Sounding Great On Radio & Podcasts
    • Social Media For Business
    • Perfect PowerPoint
    • Clearway Blog
  • About Clarity
    • Meet The Team >
      • Geoffrey Stackhouse
      • Sharon Leifer
    • Why Clarity?
    • How to Choose a Trainer
  • Contact Us

        Clearway Blog


SMART COMMUNICATORS EMBRACE OUTRAGE

4/3/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture

​Smart communicators embrace outrage and work with public opinion, not against it.
Geoffrey Stackhouse, Managing Director, Clarity Solutions

Fighting anger with anger is always inflammatory and it's a losing strategy. Whether it's a crisis, an issue or just a spat with your partner, smart communicators embrace the outrage and work with public opinion, not against it.

The Chinese and Australian governments have both faced major public outrage recently. In a novel twist, the Chinese government has taught Canberra a humiliating lesson in good communication.

In China, celebrity news anchor Chai Jing released Under the Dome, a shocking Al Gore-style doco exposing China’s pollution problems.

She takes aim at the government, blaming poor regulation, growth addiction and even state owned monopolies for the crisis. And that's not a great career move in China.

The film has gone viral with more than 150 million views in just 48 hours.

Rather than vilify Ms Chai or take aim at her content, China's environment minister Chen Jining held a press conference to praise her efforts, comparing her work to the ground breaking 1962 documentary Silent Spring. He also texted her to thank her for raising public environmental consciousness.

Mr Chen embraced the outrage and defused the potential for mass public protest. Showing he had heard the people positions him as part of the solution and gives him a right of reply to outline what he is doing to fix the problem.

In contrast, Australia's Attorney General George Brandis has now been censured by the Senate over the Government’s handling of The Forgotten Children report by President of the Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs. 

The Government's communication was badly handled and a case study in what NOT to do.

It took former Liberal Senator Amanda Vanstone to point out that the Government could have avoided the reputational damage by embracing the outrage and focusing on what could be done to help the children.

In a powerful opinion piece, Vanstone argues it would have been more effective to say: "Thanks, we are trying to fix Labor's mess, we want the number to go back to zero as it was when we last left office". 

Instead, attacking the report and the Commissioner ensured the issue stayed in the media for weeks, causing the government major embarrassment. 

So what can you do when faced with a hostile situation?

 1. Embrace the outrage: Work out what you have done to offend people, identify what their primal concern is, and show that you get it.

 2. Focus on actions: Don’t just narrate the problem, show what actions you are taking to address the underlying issue. 

 3. Play the ball, not the woman: Blaming the victim or shooting the messenger are straight out of a 1980s crisis playbook. In the black and white, heroes versus villains world of social media, the public (and the media) will always side with the underdog.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.


    Blog Archive

    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    October 2020
    September 2020
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    April 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    May 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012

    Book Your
    ​Training
Subscribe for Updates
Picture
 02 9880 8544

Picture
clarity@claritysolutions.com.au

Home / Training / Resources
About / Contact / FAQ
  • Home
  • Training Programs
    • Media Training >
      • Media Essentials
      • Managing Your Media Performance
      • 30 Minutes with the Media
      • Media Crisis Plans that Work
    • Crisis Training >
      • Crisis Essentials
      • Crisis Workout
      • Crisis Fundamentals
    • Executive Coaching >
      • What To Expect
    • Presentation Skills
    • Strategic Communication >
      • High Stakes Speech and Presentation Skills
      • Speech & Presentation Skills
      • Strategic Conversations
      • Communicate Leadership
    • Thought Leadership
    • Social Media
  • Resource Hub
    • Interview Tips
    • Crisis Media Tips
    • Visual Language >
      • Memorable One-Liners
    • Dressing For Television
    • Sounding Great On Radio & Podcasts
    • Social Media For Business
    • Perfect PowerPoint
    • Clearway Blog
  • About Clarity
    • Meet The Team >
      • Geoffrey Stackhouse
      • Sharon Leifer
    • Why Clarity?
    • How to Choose a Trainer
  • Contact Us