How to handle media interviewers that ask for guarantees

When responding to a crisis, the public wants to know for certain that mistakes won’t be repeated. Here’s how to navigate this sticky situation.

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Communicators always want to make promises they know they can keep, even when their organization is in full-blown crisis.

For example, if there has been a terrible train crash and people have died, at some point the CEO of the train operator or perhaps a politician will be asked a variation of “can you guarantee this won’t happen again.” Or perhaps the crisis is a data breach and the spokesperson could well be asked, “Can you ensure this never happens again?”

The temptation, of course, in both these examples is to issue a guarantee. It sounds bold and reassuring.

However, this is a question that can take spokespeople down a dangerous path, because offering this sort of guarantee is riddled with risk. How on earth can you guarantee such a thing will never occur again?

Issuing a guarantee simply makes organizations and their spokespeople hostages to fortune, promising something that they can’t live up to. It’s a response that can tee up future embarrassment.

This question can easily feel like a no-win situation, because saying that you can’t confirm something bad won’t happen again can also create uninspiring headlines such as:

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