Humor can be useful in crisis communications - but only in certain situations. In the Journal of Interactive Marketing, researchers defined two types of negative events: defensible and indefensible. The researchers found that humor is only an effective tool in the context of defensible crises.

Every organization needs a Crisis Leadership Team - a key component of effective risk management - made up of the organization’s most capable leaders. A crisis communications strategy is a critical component of an organization’s overall crisis management plan.

Although predicting a true crisis is nearly impossible, you can mitigate the consequences of one with a proactive, forward-looking crisis management plan. Consider these 10 steps as a checklist in your crisis management plan, which includes planning for: crisis communications, business continuity, and disaster recovery for IT systems.