Episode #19 – Crisis and Litigation Communications

This video episode of The Litigation Psychology Podcast features Sean Murphy, Practice Leader of the CSI Critical Communications team, explaining the difference between Critical Communications and PR, plus the impact that COVID-19 is having on the reputation of the trucking and transportation industry. Sean and Dr. Bill Kanasky also discuss the critical mistakes and missteps that companies are making with their COVID-19 communications, both internally and externally, and the importance of strategic communications planning.

Full Episode Transcript

[0:04] Bill Litigation Psychology Podcast brought to you by Courtroom Sciences. Today my guest is Sean Murphy. Sean’s up in Chicago, does work with Courtroom Sciences in the area of crisis communication. Sean, how are you?

[0:17] Sean Doing well, how are you, Bill?

[0:19] Bill I’m very well. Very busy doing podcasts and writing articles, because that seems to be the thing to do during some of this downtime. Sean, can you talk a little bit about our guest—because I want to make sure everybody understands precisely what you do. What is crisis communications as a field, as an area, and how does it differ from public relations?

[0:42] Sean Sure. Well, actually we do crisis and litigation communications work. And so, you know, it is considered a part of public relations work, but it’s the kind that, you know, you have to do in a hurry. So you really want people who have the kind of experience that we do, where you’ve been in these very emergent situations that are high risk, high profile, and also know what it’s like to be inside a courtroom and work with attorneys on a day-to-day basis to understand how you can really help them achieve the litigation goals. So it is a very highly specialized part of strategic communications work, and you really have to be highly experienced in order to do it and say you do it.

[1:27] Bill It sounds stressful because everything—and I’ve seen emails flying back and forth between our team in the last couple days—things, things tend to move very, very rapidly in this particular area of what do, what you do. How do you, how do you encourage the, the… because it seems like timing and communication have to be everything, right?

[1:50] Sean Well, they really are, and that’s why it requires such great experience, because you have to be very facile in your thinking, in your action, able to think and write fast. You have to be able to respond and you have to be able to keep, help clients keep on a strategy, because it is a very stressful situation and people can tend to want to react emotionally. And so it’s, it’s keeping everyone’s heads clear and on, you know, keeping their eye on the ball and what is the strategy here and how can we best achieve it.

[2:19] Bill Because I’ve seen, and you and I have talked about this, I’ve seen some more I think emotionally based messaging from corporate America since the COVID-19 pandemic has started. And there’s several examples of probably what, what not to do. But today we really wanted to focus on the transportation / trucking industry. This industry’s been demolished by nuclear verdicts over the last several years now, and that’s a very unfortunate trend that’s been happening with that particular industry, particularly with the plaintiffs’ reptile movement certainly has the trucking industry in their crosshairs. And I don’t think that’s going to go away anytime soon.

However, at the same time, we have this very unique environment right now where for the first time maybe, maybe ever, the, the trucking industry is gaining some very positive PR for their current role in the pandemic, particularly with shipping and trucking and getting these daily things that we need as Americans—to get those into the stores, get them into, into households as they, as this moves forward. And we’re gonna get over this hump and we’re gonna beat this thing. What are, what are some of the things that you’ve evaluated with the transportation and trucking industry that you think they should be doing going forward or, even more important, not doing going forward? Because litigation is not going to stop; it’s just kind of paused. What’s some of the maybe key pieces of guidance you can give to our trucking and transportation clients?

[3:57] Sean Well really there are three things they can do when you take them one at a time. The first one is to really build on this momentum that’s, that came as a result of this crisis. So for the first time, as you say, a lot of people understand that trucking is a very essential industry and that truckers are critical to our supply chain. And you’re starting to see it, but a little bit of a peek into their lives, you know, what it is that they do and how they contribute. And it’s a story that’s just as human as any story out there, just as, you know, Americana as any story out there. And so there is this, you know, backdrop of goodwill that has been established. So first thing that the industry really needs to do is build on that and pay some attention to its image and its reputation and cultivate that image and reputation.

[4:50] Bill That’s great stuff. Have you seen—and again, not necessarily for the trucking industry per se, but if you have examples go ahead—but just generally maybe some boneheaded mistakes that you’ve seen in corporate communication where they’re trying to do the right thing but again, like you say, they respond more emotionally? What are some of the, the things that you have seen that kind of make you cringe when you either read it on a website or you read it in an email or even worse, you see it on TV?

[5:19] Sean Right. Well, I mean, you know, there’s a big difference between emotive communications—which is the kind of work that you and I do together, where we’re trying to touch people and, and on an emotional level—and then there’s an emotional reaction, right? And then there’s the herd mentality around the emotional reaction. So one thing that we have seen is the herd mentality around this idea that from pretty much many companies across many industries, that people’s safety and health is the most important, is their top priority during this crisis.

[5:55] Bill It’s making me absolutely insane. It’s not, it’s not stopping unfortunately. But I hope, I hope some of these companies can make adjustments. And let me, let me ask you about that. I’m assuming there are abilities… if companies do step up and step in it early on, they can make adjustments with their messaging down the line, correct?

[6:16] Sean Sure, and they should. I mean, this shows that they’re learning and adapting to the crisis. So it’s also easier to forgive a mistake if you fix it and you get further from it. And so I think that you have seen lately companies that are becoming much more responsible in their communications and they’re emphasizing the information that’s important to their particular customer or consumer. But you do still have these mass emails that are going out there making the same mistake over and again, and I think that you will see it in the courtroom down the line. And it might be helpful if people understood what that ultimate impact will be.

[6:53] Bill Now how about regarding, rather than corporations talking to and communicating during this crisis with their, their clients, what about more internal communications within the company? Where do you see some of the, the landmines or pitfalls there, where you’re trying to calm your own people down during this pandemic, where you may put something in print or say something that maybe comes back to haunt you?

[7:21] Sean Well, you know, first of all, I think it’s really important that leaders be communicating during this period and be in regular contact and communication with their employees. If even just a touch base, you know, it signals that you’re on top of the situation and also that you value that. And you don’t have to have, you know, earth-shattering news to stay in touch with people. Sometimes it’s good to ask them how they’re doing and listen to them. So you do see I think some of the smarter companies surveying and staying in touch with people that way too.

Some of the mistakes that you see—I mean people, it really does rely to, it really goes back to this emotional response thing. I mean, you and I have seen drafts of things from people that, you know, maybe invoke religion, maybe help people to stay calm. It’s all the things that have, tend to have a divisive or opposite effect, really. In this situation, clear information, factual information gets you the farthest, with a demonstration of empathy and caring, genuine empathy and caring, because we’re all in this together. I mean, this is a moment where we should be pulling together and united, and any messaging around that I think is very powerful.

And I think that the companies that you see doing the best are the ones that are taking this moment and using their resources to help others. So they’re not sitting idle, they’re acting, and I think that those are very powerful things that companies are doing. So, you know, kind of linking back to the trucking industry, there are lots of opportunities to tell the, to create the narrative and tell the stories of what truckers are doing out there on the road, what they’re seeing. Because they’re doing more than shipping, you know, product around the country and supplies. There’s lots of stories out there about truckers because they’re out there day and night helping people, saving people, transporting pets—things like that that no one ever hears. Stories that no one ever hears that really benefit the industry and its image and its reputation.

[9:23] Bill So how does the industry, specifically to trucking and transportation, how do they get that message out there for the long term? Because I think for the short term they’re getting a lot of help from the White House, from, from the media—a lot of good feel-good stories, and the healthcare industry is kind of riding this wave too. But there’s got to be more of a long-term answer here because litigation is gonna go on forever. What were some more the long-term strategies that you would recommend?

[9:49] Sean Well, they have to put some resources behind it. They’re gonna have to really put together a strategic communications plan that is phased in over time and understands that this, you know, what’s occurring, what occurred naturally will just one day evaporate because the story is shifting and changing at all times. And you can’t rely on it. And the idea of what we do in terms of strategic communications is that, you know, we create the kinds of programs that advance these narratives and tell these stories in a very planned way.

And I think what maybe the industry may not understand is that they have very compelling stories to tell and they have a very strong narrative to deliver to people. And so, you know, it’s no different than any other image or reputation campaign. I mean think about it—it was maybe a couple decades ago when the nuclear industry positioned itself as clean energy, you know? At a time when the country was having, you know, difficulties with oil and oil supplies and, and you know, wanting to do more for the environment. And so they found a way to position themselves as a responsible alternative. It’s no different for the trucking industry. Much less complex, I might add, than the nuclear industry.

[11:06] Bill Sean, what, what are your experiences in crisis communication when you have an industry… right? So you have the industry, say like the trucking industry, but everybody underneath the umbrella, there’s a lot of vicious competition for, you know, for dollars. So how do you… so you have an industry that has this very positive PR going right now, and then you have all these trucking companies and transportation companies that are doing everything they can to beat each other up to get business. This seems like that’s a heck of a challenge here. Do you see some of this messaging more on the umbrella end of it—meaning more of an industry message—or do you see some companies saying, “hey, this trucking company is going to give this message and we’re not gonna pay attention to the other guys”? Kind of how do you see this playing out and what are your experiences?

[12:07] Sean I think that the… first of all, there are leaders in this industry too. There are larger companies. I think that those that step forward and put together a narrative like this and promote a narrative like this that celebrates the industry and repositions it—they understand that a rising tide lifts all boats. And since they’re the leader, they will benefit most from that kind of campaign. And even if their competition has a fallout benefit, well then so be it, but they would benefit the most. So that’s usually how these kinds of things start—at the top company or companies in the industry who decide to do something about it to make a difference. And, and that is something that will benefit them the most because, because they are the leader.

[12:48] Bill Great. Sean, thank you so much for being on the podcast. I know that you’ve worked with a couple of my clients, particularly one of the huge trucking clients, and I think they have you on speed dial at this point, which is probably a good thing. I’ll make sure to send this podcast to all of our transportation and trucking clients and give them your contact information so if they need help with their messaging, whether it be externally or internally, that we can get you onboard as fast as possible.

[13:16] Sean Well, now we are out there helping a lot of, a couple organizations in this, in this crisis with a couple of different kinds of challenges. And yes, obviously this is what we do and this is where we thrive in terms of helping others. And so yeah, I hope so.

[13:35] Bill Excellent work. We’ll see you next time. Thank you.

[13:38] Sean All right, thank you Bill. Take care.