Crisis Communications Virtual Conference

Crisis is not a matter of if—it’s when. Communicators have been operating on always on mode, pivoting and responding to internal and external crises for years. In this practical session, we’ll ground today’s challenges in real examples and reset how comms leaders must partner with the C-suite—not just to react, but to anticipate and lead. This new crisis communication blueprint will equip you to manage the chaos effectively. What you’ll learn:

• The volatility map: Recent examples of organizational flashpoints ripped from the headlines, and what they reveal about shifting expectations for communicators.
• From messenger to strategist: How to position your expertise as an advisor that shapes decisions, not just announces them.
• Blueprints for rapid response: How to align your team with organizational emergency protocols and pre-drafted holding statements that are pre-approved by leadership.
• Cross-sector coordination: Best practices for collaborating with internal leaders, external partners, and media under pressure.
• Comms/C-Suite alignment: How to anticipate executive concerns and protect organizational trust during volatile moments.

According to Ragan and HarrisX’s poll, 67% of CEOs say they lead external communications even when their organization employs a CCO. So how do you prepare your executives when their presence, empathy and credibility matter as much as their talking points? Credibility can be eroded by a single misstep, amplified by AI-driven deepfakes or rescued by the right voice at the right time. This session reveals how to train and elevate spokespersons who project clarity, composure and compassion across any crisis scenario. What you’ll learn:

• C-Suite training: What works (and what doesn’t) when coaching senior leaders who are short on time but high on visibility.
• Balance training: How to instill confidence without arrogance and empathy without weakness – plus how to work with executives reluctant to accept advice.
• Nonverbal mastery: Tone, cadence and body language that amplify trust in high-pressure moments.
• AI assist: How to build an executive template in GenAI to provide quick feedback on tone or voice.
• Crisis-era skills: Preparing spokespersons to counter misinformation, respond to activist pressure, and adapt messaging across hybrid media.
• Future-proofing the messenger: How to use simulations, data feedback and scenario planning to prepare spokespersons for tomorrow’s crises.

In this quick-fire session, a Ragan Training advisor will share their top five tips to sharpen your delivery—rapid tongue twisters, confidence-boosting breathwork, and quick-hit prep hacks for last-minute info drops—so your spokespersons can step on stage calm, clear, and ready to shine under pressure.

Employees aren’t just an internal audience; they’re your most visible stakeholders. In a crisis, how you communicate with them will determine whether they become your fiercest advocates or your fastest liability. One poorly timed memo or vague email can trigger leaks, fuel rumors or shake morale. This session pulls back the curtain on employee-first crisis communication within an organization that supported employees and maintained operational excellence during crises. You’ll walk away with:

• Fast, transparent updates: Proven methods for closing information gaps quickly and preventing misinformation from spreading internally.
• Manager as messenger: How to equip frontline managers with talking points, FAQs, and coaching so they deliver clarity and confidence.
• Emphasize capability, not just buy-in: How this organization emphasized employee capability to adapt and overcome change, and how they calculated the savings from an avoided crisis.
• Balancing reassurance with realism: Techniques for acknowledging fear or uncertainty while reinforcing stability and direction.
• Employee advocacy playbooks: How to mobilize employees as credible, external-facing voices while protecting them from overexposure or burnout.
• Channel strategy for 2026: Best practices for using intranets, collaboration platforms, secure chat and video briefings to reach dispersed teams.

A fake video can tank stock prices. A cloned voice can spark panic. A mob of bots could turn a logo rebrand into a brand crisis. In 2026, communicators are confronting a new kind of disinformation reality: where disinformation is engineered to look, sound and feel real. See how one organization navigated an AI crisis and the lessons and tools every communicator can apply. What you’ll learn:

• Detection skills: How to identify signals that content may be altered, misleading, or inauthentic and determine the right tools and teams to assess it.
• Message triage: How to decide when to respond, when to ignore, and when to reframe.
• Anatomy of a social media crisis: The tools that can identify the beginnings of a viral post, including the metrics that matter like share velocity and comment spikes.
• Platform engagement: How to work with social platforms, journalists, and fact-checkers to debunk false narratives without amplifying them.
• The threats to watch for: How comms leaders can prepare for these crises.

Take five, learn five: A Ragan Training advisor will present practical ways to stay strong when challenges mount, like creating micro-routines that restore calm, reframing setbacks as experiments, leaning on peer support, protecting focus with boundaries, and practicing fast recovery rituals.

There’s always going to be something new on the horizon. This closing conversation with a senior level exec will break down what leaders expect from communicators in a crisis in 2026—and beyond. Learn what you can do now to improve your playbooks and you’ll be ready for the curveballs no one will see coming. We’ll discuss:

• Deliver for the C-suite: The five traits of a successful crisis comms plan—plus, an example of a communicator that turned one crisis event into a day of celebration.
• Key stakeholders: How to set up communication channels that really work—and don’t overwhelm—making sure the CEO and C-Suite have the information they need at hand while giving your comms department the space it needs to succeed.
• Speed vs accuracy: The delicate balance between being the first word and getting it right, and what it takes to pivot strategy as headlines shift by the hour.
• Scenario planning for 2026: How to upgrade your playbooks to include the threats of the future, including new categories of risk (climate, social media attacks/reputation, AI, geopolitical unrest).