'Say it like you mean it' : an exploration of how members of the public perceive audiovisual crisis responses

Schoofs et al. address the critical topic of empathy in crisis communication. The chapter centers on a qualitative study that adds to their growing research program on empathy. Schoofs et al. begin with the premise that in order to repair a reputation, established crisis communication strategies must be put into practice in the right way. This position reflects a growing concern in crisis communication literature for how crisis responses are operationalized. See Chapter 24 by Fannes and Claeys and Chapter 29 by Tachkova for related discussions of how crisis response strategies are crafted. Schoofs et al. posit that the degree to which crisis responses stimulate reputation repair is associated with perceptions of sincerity. The public needs to feel that the speaker genuinely empathizes with those affected by the crisis in order to be able to forgive. The study found empathy to be critical in facilitating positive reputational outcomes from crisis responses. At the same time, the organization should show competence in handling the crisis. Empathy will not compensate for an incompetent crisis response. Through focus group discussions in which members of the public discuss audiovisual crisis responses, this study explored which aspects of crisis communication that received much prior attention actually matter in shaping public perceptions and in what ways. The findings align with evidence-based guidelines in the sense that apologies, emotions, and nonverbal behaviors are important in shaping public perceptions. However, simply applying recommended strategies may not be enough to repair reputations. Crisis communication strategies must be put to practice in such a way that shows empathy for victims, while the speaker appears both competent and sincere