Boris Johnson had been criticised for his lack of visible leadership in recent weeks.
Absent from the responses to the floods, he had also been coming under attack over the coronavirus with some suggesting he had already decided to self-isolate.
But that changed when he fronted a press conference at Downing Street last week.
So how did he get on and are there lessons other spokespeople can learn about leading press conferences during crisis media management incidents?
Reassurance
This was a press conference that was packed with the sort of reassurance that is crucial during crisis media management.
The government needed to strike a balance between showing it was taking the threat seriously and not creating panic and the Prime Minister’s level-headed approach was integral to that.
Right at the start he sought to put the virus and the threat it poses into context.
He said: “Let me be absolutely clear that for the majority of people who contract the virus, this will be a mild disease from which they will speedily and fully recover, as we have already seen.”
This was a message he returned to later saying: “This is overwhelmingly a disease that is moderate in its effects. People recover speedily and well from it – that is what we are seeing in the overwhelming majority of cases.”
Speculative
Crucial to this reassuring theme was Mr Johnson’s refusal to get drawn into the more speculative questions as the media seemed to present the worst-case scenario as the most likely outcome.
We tell delegates on our media training and crisis communication courses that journalists love to speculate.
“What would happen if…” is fascinating for the media but risky for spokespeople. And in a crisis situation, speculation can be particularly dangerous.
Mr Johnson also avoided the trap of repeating the sensational language in the questions posed by journalists and even uncharacteristically turned down the opportunity, presented by a Daily Mail journalist to compare it to ‘wartime effort’ and talk about the ‘bulldog spirit’.
Message
The importance of washing hands may not be the most exciting or glamorous of messages but it was simple and effective and it was one the government was determined to get through in the press conference.
Alongside the theme of being prepared, it was something which was repeated regularly and came from both the prime minister and his experts.
Mr Johnson said: “We must not forget what we can all do to fight this virus, which is to wash our hands – you knew I was going to say this.
“Wash our hands with soap and water for the length of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice. It is simple advice but it is the single most important thing we can do.”
Experts
We had previously been told that the country had ‘had enough of experts’.
But the decision to send chief media officer Chris Witty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance into the press conference was crucial.
Not only did their presence help to show that the government was taking the coronavirus threat seriously, but they added a calmness to proceedings.
They helped to provide some reassurance around the worst-case scenarios, particularly when they made it clear their answers were based on science, playing down fears about school closures, cancelling holidays and stockpiling food. Listening to them speak, you felt that the government had a grip on the crisis – something the public looks for in incidents like this.
Importantly, they avoided the jargon often seen in health stories and, despite the complexity of what they were discussing at times, their answers were largely easy to follow.
Above all, they sounded human. “As a doctor myself, this is normal medical practice,” Mr Whitty reassured at one point.
It was perhaps telling that Mr Johnson left much of the talking to them.
Questions
One of the stand out parts of the press conference was the number of questions that were taken.
In fact, more than 35 minutes of the 40 minutes press conference was spent responding to questions.
While that is significantly longer than we would recommend during our crisis communication training courses, taking questions helps to create an impression of transparency and honesty.
Our advice to other organisations is to think in advance about how many questions you are prepared to face.
If you chose not to take any, or only want to answer a few, make sure the media are aware before you start.
Slip-up
Perhaps the only time the Prime Minister slipped up was when he was asked if he would continue to shake hands with dignitaries.
Here he seemed to veer away from the controlled way he had carried himself and said: “I was at a hospital the other night where I think there were coronavirus patients and I was shaking hands with everybody, you will be pleased to know, and I continue to shake hands.”
This triggered some negative headlines on online stories critical social media posts and a statement was subsequently issued clarifying that Mr Johnson had not been shaking hands with coronavirus victims.
With coronavirus set to stay and almost certain to remain at the top of the media agenda, this is unlikely to be the last time the Prime Minister and his advisers need to hold a press conference – but it is was a good starting point.
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