How to Avoid Communication Pitfalls During a Crisis

Published on March 12, 2025 by Broadsight

A crisis doesn’t wait for you to get organized.

When the media starts asking questions, you don’t have the luxury of time. Every moment spent searching for past statements, aligning responses or tracking down missed media inquiries is a moment where someone else is shaping the narrative for you.

In high-pressure situations, communications teams often find themselves overwhelmed by competing priorities: Leadership wants updates, journalists want answers and internal teams scramble to coordinate responses. If messaging is inconsistent or response times are too slow, trust erodes, speculation spreads and the situation spirals out of control.

Organizations don’t lose control of their narrative because they lack a good response. They lose control because they lack a system for tracking, managing and executing that response efficiently.

The Most Common Communication Pitfalls in a Crisis

Even the most experienced communications teams can stumble during a crisis when they lack the right tools and processes. Here are the most common failure points:

• Scattered media tracking – Media inquiries arrive through multiple channels: email, phone calls, social media and direct outreach to executives. Without a central system, critical requests get lost.
• Inconsistent messaging – If different team members handle inquiries separately, journalists may receive conflicting statements, creating confusion and eroding credibility.
• Slow response times – The longer an organization takes to respond, the more room there is for speculation. Without a streamlined workflow, teams spend too much time chasing information instead of delivering a coordinated response.
• No visibility into the bigger picture – If leadership can’t see trends in media requests or track how an issue is evolving, they miss early warning signs that could have helped them get ahead of the crisis.

These problems don’t just make crisis management harder—they make it impossible to lead the conversation.

How a Structured Media Response Prevents a Crisis from Escalating

A strong crisis response is deliberate, coordinated and proactive. Organizations that successfully manage crises don’t rely on email chains or manual tracking. They have a structured system in place to ensure that:

• Every media request is captured – No journalist inquiry slips through the cracks, no matter where it comes from.
• Messaging is aligned across teams – Spokespeople and leadership work from the same information, preventing inconsistencies.
• Leadership has real-time insights – Decision-makers see trends in media inquiries and can proactively shape the response strategy.
• Response time is minimized – When media teams aren’t bogged down by administrative work, they can focus on delivering a clear, timely response.

The ability to see the full media landscape in real time is what allows organizations to stay ahead of the story instead of reacting to it.

How Broadsight Tracker Helps Organizations Maintain Control

Crisis situations demand speed and precision—neither of which are possible with fragmented tools. Broadsight provides a single source of truth for media response teams, ensuring that:

• Every media inquiry is logged automatically, so teams always know what’s been asked, who is handling it, and when a response is due.
• Messaging stays consistent, with an accessible record of past statements and responses.
• Leadership has a real-time view of evolving media trends, allowing them to make informed decisions before issues escalate.
• Workflows are streamlined, reducing response times and ensuring no critical request is missed.

Organizations don’t get to choose when a crisis hits—but they do get to decide how prepared they are when it does.

See how Broadsight Tracker keeps teams aligned and in control. Request a demo or visit broadsighttracker.ca to see it in action.