Care and compassion - just what's needed

After the tragic death of Rhys Jones on Wednesday evening, there was the inevitable frenzy of media attention as to how and why such an incident could occur. For the police team running the investigation, dealing with this kind of intense media pressure can be extremely challenging as they are required to simultaneously do their job and give the media regular updates. On BBC Breakfast the morning after the shooting, Chief Constable Simon Byrne was giving a live 'down the line' interview from Liverpool. His compassionate and measured response to the often tough questioning about how the investigation was being run was the perfect example of how to handle a crisis situation. In these types of interivew it is very easy to simply respond to the interviewer's line of questioning. The key is to take the initiative, to show care and understanding and to reassure your audience that you and your organisation are in control of what is often a very difficult situation.