Picture this: your executive is mid-interview—on a podcast, a panel, or in a keynote Q&A—when they suddenly go off-script. A bad joke, mentioning a confidential partnership, an insensitive comment, something that wasn’t in your prep or media training. Something you didn’t think you’d need to tell them not to say, but here you are. The host laughs nervously. The crowd mumbles. You’re not laughing; you’re already in damage control.

This is the job of a marcomms professional. While the usual planning meetings, strategy decks, or media training all have their moments, this is where agile comms skills are truly needed.

As Warren Buffett put it: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” 

While there’s no way to truly prevent every unscripted moment, there is a process that communications professionals can follow to manage what comes next. Here are three tips to help you navigate when situations “go bad.”

#1 – Assess the Situation:

Before you do anything else, understand what you’re dealing with. Was this a live broadcast recording, a pre-recorded podcast, or a statement made during an in-person interview with a journalist? It’s important to plan a response that reflects the reality of the situation. Comms must be the objective voice in the room.

If the moment happened in a pre-recorded setting (podcast, interview, etc.), you have more leeway than you might think. Connect with the host immediately after the recording and ask whether the comment can be edited out. Better yet, feel empowered to jump in during the recording and ask, “Can we give this question another try?” It’s better to speak up than to stay quiet and let a bad moment remain in the final cut.

Some live situations won’t afford you that option. Take, for example, when GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen recently appeared on CNBC’s SquawkBox to defend the company’s bid for acquiring eBay. His appearance on the show caused the stock to drop 10% that day, shaking investor confidence.

The interview quickly became a case study in what not to do.  

After the interview, the comms team quickly turned around and put the CEO on Fox Business the next day, where he not only failed to adequately address the funding questions but also continued to insult the eBay management team and board of directors.  

It’s a reminder of how quickly the window for shaping a story can close and why sometimes you must slow down to move fast. I would argue that, in this situation, they should have retooled their messaging, perhaps by swapping in a different executive. They failed to effectively assess the situation and adapt. 

#2 – Align and Assign:

Once you’ve assessed the situation (and perhaps stopped the initial bleed), get the right people in the room. At a minimum it should include:

  • Comms Teams: Get them up to speed first. They need context before anything else starts moving.
  • The Executive: They need to know what’s coming and shouldn’t be caught off guard as the situation develops. And they need candid feedback (not yes people). 
  • Human Resources: Loop in HR if the comments touch on company culture or internal matters.
  • Investor Relations: IR may need to be part of the conversation if there’s any financial or investor exposure.
  • The Technical Experts: If a spokesperson is not the technical expert, get those people in the room to give you a clear line of sight into the subject matter.

The goal of this conversation is not to finalize a public statement. It’s to align on what was actually said (correctly or incorrectly), agree on who owns each next step, and ensure no one goes off in a different direction before your team has a coordinated position. Depending on the scope of the issue, this could escalate into a full crisis communications response. 

It’s also worth acknowledging the human element. Executives may feel embarrassed, defensive, or uncertain about what happened. Part of your role in this moment is to reassure them that you’re already working on an action plan and to keep the conversation focused and moving forward. Assigning a clear owner to each next step (holding statements, media monitoring and response, stakeholder outreach) ensures nothing falls through the cracks as the pace picks up. 

And don’t wait too long. The stories that spiral out of hand are often the ones neglected by comms teams, creating the risk that a comment that could have been controlled turns into a full-blown crisis. See our blog post on crisis communications for some tips on avoiding that situation altogether.

#3 – Prepare Before it Happens Again:

Albert Einstein once said, “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” If there’s a silver lining here, it’s this – you just got a free lesson in where your executive’s preparation needs work.

The best time to manage an off-script moment is before the next one occurs. Once the immediate situation is contained and resolved, use the opportunity to close the gaps that allowed it to occur in the first place. Consider the following:

  • Conducting executive media training, not as a one-time session, but as a recurring engagement. 
  • Building a pre-interview ritual that goes beyond just a briefing document with a 10-30 minute review prior to an interview for key points, etc. 
  • Understand the executives’ POV and don’t just assume or rely on your messaging – they might have a different perspective and if you understand that, you can better build it into messaging.
  • Be pedantic about what not to say. Often, executives get coddled. They need direct feedback and callouts on what to avoid (be that specific messages, types of body language, etc.). 

Every communications professional will face one of these heart-sinking moments at some point during their career. Despite all of the prep, it’s simply part of the job. Process is what separates successful outcomes from failures. Assess quickly, align with the right people, and be open to using difficult moments as learning opportunities.

If you’re looking for a communications partner to help you build that process, let’s chat.