Answer extracted from the Embracing Marketing Mistakes podcast — listen to the full episode below.
When your personal crisis becomes a PR crisis — how should you respond?
Don't retreat or hide — own the situation by engaging directly with media requests and clarifying your actual position, even under enormous pressure. Your ability to maintain professional composure and communicate the truth becomes the narrative itself, turning a crisis into a teachable moment about your values and expertise.
When a tweet about a children's book illustration sparked global outrage during the Me Too movement, the response came down to one fundamental choice: disappear, or face it head-on. Staying silent would have allowed the false narrative to calcify. Instead, engaging with journalists and explaining the real position — that fairy tales and risk education are essential tools for teaching consent — reclaimed the conversation.
This approach works because media outlets and the public respond to clarity and transparency, not evasion. When you communicate your actual stance rather than let tabloid interpretations stand unchallenged, you signal both competence and integrity. The goal isn't to win an argument on social media; it's to ensure journalists and stakeholders understand what you actually said and why.
Why your partner's professional backing matters
A crucial part of this strategy is having someone in your inner circle who understands the professional stakes and won't pressure you to retreat. The guest's partner, also a PR professional at Ketchum, didn't suggest backing down — he understood that silence in crisis communication is often fatal. A non-communicator spouse might have encouraged her to stop engaging, step back, and wait it out. Instead, she had someone who could validate the hard decision to keep talking.
This partnership became essential psychological and strategic support. As the guest reflects in the episode, having a partner who shares your professional values and understands crisis protocol transformed what could have been an isolating ordeal into a shared problem-solving exercise. The difference between crumbling under pressure and standing firm often depends on who's standing beside you.
"I'm a much better practitioner for it. And I get a lot of shit in this role. You know, like, there's a lot of trouble."
CIPR President and Communications Professional — A senior PR and communications practitioner who founded Socially Mobile, a community interest company focused on underrepresented groups from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. She served on the board of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and has weathered personal and professional crises that tested the limits of her expertise, including a three-year stalking incident that escalated to law enforcement.
The deeper insight in this conversation is that PR professionals face the same vulnerabilities as anyone else, but our tools for managing crisis are sharper. When the crisis lands on you personally, you have the advantage of understanding how narratives form, how media works, and why silence amplifies fear. The choice to engage — despite death threats, despite misrepresentation, despite exhaustion — is a choice only a trained communicator could make with full awareness of the cost.
See also
What happens when a critical social media post about children's media gets misreported by tabloids and goes globally viral?
A tweet critiquing a Sleeping Beauty illustration in Biff and Chip books during the Me Too movement was picked up by the Evening Chronicle, syndicated globally, and transformed into a completely false narrative—turning a nuanced professional observation into a public relations crisis.
What does the principle 'praise in public, criticise in private' reveal about workplace dynamics?
Public criticism damages authority and team cohesion, while public praise reinforces positive behavior and morale—a foundational rule for maintaining psychological safety and professional respect in any organizational structure.
What is the correct protocol for delivering negative versus positive feedback in professional settings?
Negative feedback should be delivered verbally in person to an individual, never in a group setting. Positive feedback should be delivered in public to reinforce the behavior and acknowledge the individual's contribution visibly to the entire team.