Gregg Wallace and crisis communications 

Thank you, Gregg Wallace. Thank you for providing us with a textbook example of how not to do crisis communications. We’ll be using it in our crisis media interview training for years to come.

BBC’s point of view

Simon Brooke, one of our senior trainers, appeared on ITV News on Friday to talk about the issue from the BBC’s point of view. He explained that the Corporation will need to act quickly and transparently. It also needs to show that it’s learnt lessons that will put it in a good place to ensure that this kind of incident doesn’t happen again.

As well as providing crisis communications training for companies such as manufacturers, law firms, tech companies, property groups, luxury brands and travel operators, we also advise celebrities and high-profile individuals with crisis management.

Crisis communications management. 

What mistakes has Gregg Wallace made with his crisis communications management? First, he’s presented himself as the victim, even worse he’s suggested that there is some sort of conspiracy against him. In our crisis media training, we point out that no organisation or individual which is suffering a crisis should go on the attack. Neither should you, at this early stage, before an investigation has reported, try and defend yourself.

In this comment on the issue over the weekend, Wallace suggested that the complaints came from “Middle class women of a certain age.” He went to point out that he’s worked with a large number of contestants and colleagues. Perhaps this is Wallace’s attempt to put the situation into context. As we explain in our crisis communications training for travel companies and other organisations, there’s often an opportunity to reassure your audience and to put an incident into some kind of context. However, there is a danger that you appear to be seeking to dismiss the incident and those who claim to be affected by it. Choosing your words carefully and testing your messages is essential.

You certainly don’t want to seem to be casting yourself as the victim. In our crisis media training workshops, we look at case studies. The boss of a water company complains to the waiting media about enduring a long day due to the crisis at his business. “Well, it’s been a long day for a lot of people who don’t have water,” one reporter snaps back at him before bombarding him with questions. 

Crisis communications training

What should Gregg Wallace – and the BBC, for that, matter – have done then to handle this crisis? When we deliver crisis communications training to property companies, law firms, hotels and tech firms among others we talk about two things – sympathy and action. Really, there’s not much more that you can or should say at the early stages of a crisis. The organisation or individual in the midst of this maelstrom should express concern and sympathy for those who claim to have suffered as a result of the incident. 

We recently provided one of our crisis communications training courses for a tech company. During the role play interviews our experienced media trainers (all of whom have covered crises as journalists) coaxed the participants into sharing all kinds of theories about what could have gone wrong in the crisis scenario that we’d created for them. Yes, it’s your day job to develop prognoses and theories like these, we told them. However, in a crisis restrict this to internal meetings. Don’t share your ideas with the media as it gives more to go on and is great for the kind of unhelpful speculation that we journalists thrive on when a person or organisation seems to have done something wrong. 

Managing your crisis communications

Finally, a thought about the optics. How you appear when you make a statement in a crisis, what you’re dressed in and what’s in the background shouldn’t matter in these serious situations, but it does. In fact, it matters a lot. We process images around 30,000 times faster than we do words, and our animal brains make an instant judgement about other human beings. So, even before you’ve opened your mouth, we’ve decided whether or not we like you and trust you.

The lighting and camerawork in the video message that Gregg Wallace posted on Instagram actually made him appear more sinister and threatening. Worse still, he wore a T-shirt with “The Matt Hampson Foundation,” written on it. Perhaps he felt that demonstrating his support for the charity, which helps people recover from major sports injuries would improve his credentials. Inevitably, however, the Foundation stated on X shortly afterwards “we do not condone the kind of behaviour and comments contained in these allegations”.

Incidentally, this shows the importance of coordinating with partner organisations when you’re managing your crisis communications. Make sure that your clients, suppliers, local communities and others know what’s going on and what you’re saying it about it. 

When a crisis hits an organisation or an individual the shock and panic that it induces often makes them do foolish things. That’s why having a crisis communications strategy ready to go and investing in effective crisis communication training is essential. Someone should tell this to Gregg Wallace – and the BBC.

Crisis communication training

Come and talk to us about how we can help you manage any crises or difficult situations and minimise their impact. You can follow us on LinkedIn here.