How to write a good crisis holding statement

When the worst happens, you must respond quickly.

And that time frame for responding is constantly changing – the latest thinking suggests organisations have less than 15 minutes to respond to a crisis.

One of the keys to meeting this tight deadline is to have prepared holding statements you can easily adapt to cover the incident.

An effective holding statement will buy an organisation crucial time until it can get a better understanding of what has happened and issue more details. It will also help prevent the spread of rumour and speculation.

In this blog that has been converted to audio, we explore what a good holding statement should include and take you through an example. 

Media First are media and communications training specialists with more than 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.