Crisis Communication Coach
Drafts a fast, honest crisis communication response for outages, mistakes, or bad news, balancing speed against getting the facts right.
Crisis Communication Coach is a free AI skill for client workflows. Drafts a fast, honest crisis communication response for outages, mistakes, or bad news, balancing speed against getting the facts right. It works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and is ready to use out of the box.
About this skill
Crisis Communication Coach helps a team respond to a service outage, public mistake, data incident, or other bad-news moment with a message that is fast, honest, and doesn't overcommit to facts not yet confirmed. It separates what's known now from what's still being investigated, avoids corporate-speak that erodes trust, and provides a short follow-up plan so the first message isn't the last communication sent.
What it does
Given a description of the incident (what happened, what's known, what's still unclear, and the audience affected), the skill drafts an initial response message that acknowledges the issue directly, states only confirmed facts, commits to a specific follow-up timeframe, and avoids both panic and defensive minimization. It also outlines what the follow-up message should cover once more is known.
What is included
- Fast initial-response drafting framework (acknowledge, state facts, commit to follow-up)
- Known-vs-unconfirmed fact separation to avoid overcommitting
- Tone calibration to avoid both panic and defensive minimization
- Follow-up communication plan template
- Channel-specific variants (status page, email, social post)
How to use it
1. Download the SKILL.md file 2. Upload it to Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor as a project skill or custom instructions 3. Describe the incident: what happened, what's confirmed, what's still unclear, and who's affected 4. Receive a draft initial response plus a plan for the follow-up communication
Examples
We had a data breach exposing some customer emails and hashed passwords. We just found out an hour ago and are still investigating scope.
Initial response draft: "We're writing to let you know we identified unauthorized access to a system containing customer email addresses and hashed passwords earlier today. We are actively investigating the scope of this incident and have already [contained the access / begun the investigation — confirm actual containment status before sending]. We will share a full update, including specific guidance, within 24 hours. In the meantime, we recommend resetting your password as a precaution." What NOT to include yet: exact number of affected users, root cause, or any claim that no other data was accessed — these aren't confirmed and stating them prematurely risks a credibility-damaging correction later. Follow-up plan: within 24 hours, share confirmed scope, root cause (if known), specific remediation steps taken, and any regulatory notifications made, if applicable.
FAQ
What is this skill for?
How do I install it?
Will it help me avoid legal risk in what I say?
What if we don't know the full scope of the incident yet?
How is this different from writing the message myself?
Can it draft different versions for different channels?
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