How to promise mistakes won’t be repeated
Part of an effective crisis response is showing how your organization won’t repeat past misdeeds. Here’s how to thread this tricky needle in your press conference or one-on-one interview.
After a crisis or negative incident, many reporters ask a variation of this question: “Can you guarantee this will never happen again?”
The problem with that question is that life offers no guarantees—and no matter what procedures and protocols you put into place, there’s always a chance the negative incident could reoccur.
Yet, saying that in an interview can be used against you. If you answer by saying something glib such as, “There are no guarantees in life,” or, “No, we can’t guarantee that,” the resulting story may feature that true but uninspiring line as a pull quote in bold.
In The Media Training Bible, I wrote:
“The best way to answer “guarantee” questions is to talk about what you can guarantee. You usually can’t guarantee a specific result, but you can guarantee that you are committed to something specific—an effort, a policy, or an idea.”
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