#THECOMMUNICATORPATIENTDOCTOR #WALKINTOABAR By Jen Roberts.

This might be the first time the terms stand-up comedy and crisis management have been used in the same sentence. If you think about it, though, the way a comedian deals with a heckler can teach us health care marketers a lot about how to handle a crisis.
In marketing, a crisis can be defined as any event that can, within a short period of time, harm your organization, its people, its facilities, its finances or its reputation. In comedy, a heckler is defined as a loud, annoying audience member who can harm your act, your career and your chance for a basic-cable sitcom. The principles for dealing with both are similar.
Don’t panic. Just like a club audience, a hospital’s internal and external customers can sense fear. Panicky comedians have been known to hurl offensive epitaphs or even leap into the audience—always with poor results. Hospital administrators who lash out without thinking don’t fare any better.
Be prepared. Stand-ups don’t know when a heckler will strike, but they recognize when they are most likely to show up (dollar beer night) and prepare accordingly. This allows them to respond immediately, often with the old reliable line, “Yeah, I remember my first beer.” Likewise, have health care marketers identify in advance issues and events that have the potential to attract negative media attention (a controversial decision or abrupt resignation) and have an issue management or crisis communication plan in place.
Identify the threat. A comedian must quickly evaluate not just the threat of the heckler to his performance, but deliver an appropriate response. For instance, if the heckler is simply an over served loudmouth, the comedian can put them down forcefully knowing the audience will support them. On the other hand, if the culprit is a cute child who innocently cries out “I’m bored,” the matter requires a bit more diplomacy. In a health care setting, if the issue involves a complaint that is clearly unjustified, the response can be direct and emphatic; whereas if it comes from a respected community leader, the response must be more measured.
Control the message. Stand-ups know they take a big risk if they get into a back-and-forth with an unfriendly audience member because they are, in effect, sharing the stage. That’s how budding comedy careers end. In a crisis, hospitals also need to be careful to whom they “lend the mic” to lest they lose control of the message.
Reassure your fans. Veteran comedians know that as long as they give their loyal fans what they want and expect, even the biggest scandal will blow over. When a public relations crisis occurs for a hospital, it is essential to put out a reassuring, positive message to employees, partners, volunteers, physicians and patients.
Turn it around. Some comedians relish hecklers because, by turning the joke on the offender, they “win the crowd.” In a similar way, responding to a crisis effectively can demonstrate positive leadership and organizational transparency.
Get back to business. Once the crisis is handled, the comedian moves on and gets back to his jokes, and the health care provider gets back to its core business—caring for patients.
Learn from the experience. The longer a comedian works, the better they get at handling hecklers. Health care marketers, if they are smart, also learn from each crisis, making it easier to handle them in the future.
Coincidentally, humor can be a powerful tool in crisis management. Used appropriately, it can lighten the mood and/or make a point more effective. Used incorrectly, it can create a bigger crisis. Like medicine, comedy is best left to the professionals.
A version of this story first appeared in The Roberts Group blog.