“If you’re not prepared to manage risks, you’re condemned to manage crises.” Often, the way we manage a crisis, or the image we project, takes on more importance than the crisis itself. Today’s managers are conditioned to plan for success, to highlight successes—not failures—and to banish all negative thoughts. Researchers have given the name “disaster myopia” to the phenomenon in which people deny the probability that their organization may one day be in a crisis. However, for many organizations, the real question is not knowing whether a crisis will strike one day, but when. And when that day arrives, will you be prepared to confront the situation? This workshop will help you better define what a crisis is and will above all give you ways to prepare to confront it.

Are you afraid of the media? Does the thought of being interviewed by a journalist make you nervous? Do you see your relations with the media as a necessary evil… something that is essential to the smooth running of your organization? And yet, the omnipresence of the media and the role it plays in mirroring and even amplifying public opinion is of crucial importance to any organization concerned about its image. This workshop on media relations will help you put the media into context, learn how to negotiate or give an interview, get tips on how to manage Q&A periods, and faithfully represent your organization as its spokesperson

In the heat of the action, we often forget that traditional communication tools are not very useful. They need to be adapted or replaced altogether to be really effective. We tend to assume that our only challenge in an emergency situation will be dealing with the media. And it’s true that it’s when they show up that the crisis begins. But it would be short sighted not to take into account all our other audiences, both internal and external, that also need to be informed. Communications isn’t drowning everyone in a flood of undigested information and coming away with a clear conscience. You need to know exactly what information to communicate: to whom, when and how. It’s quite an art!

We all know that an evacuation plan and an IT succession plan are an integral part of any sound risk management approach, but it doesn’t stop there! Companies often put all their efforts into identifying and mitigating the specific risks associated with their area of expertise, forgetting all the other risks and stakes that also become a threat. A limited approach such as this doesn’t give you enough protection and prevents you from effectively ensuring business continuity. Learn how to manage risks with a proven method that shows you how to build teams and create a risk management culture at all levels of your organization.

How would you rate your communications with your clients, your employees, your bankers or your investors? More than a simple tool, communications have now become a crucial factor of success for organizations of all kinds. Through this conference on the strategic importance of communications you will be able to evaluate the usefulness of both internal and external communications, among other things; learn what makes someone a good spokesperson; and discover the 10 rules that all winning organizations should observe to ensure successful communications with the media.