Loren Weisman Brand Communications and Optics Strategist Orlando, Florida · Working worldwide

Crisis Management Optics: Prepare Before an Attack

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Loren Weisman

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Crisis management optics are the subject of this video for business owners, founders and public figures who may face a reputation attack. Crisis management can start long before a crisis.

This video first went up on YouTube on April 23, 2025. The written post was added on November 2, 2026.

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How Can You Prepare Crisis Management Optics Before an Attack?

Crisis management optics can be prepared ahead of time through videos, blogs or articles that already share your side of something that might be attacked. Pointing people to an older, dated response may disarm an attack better than a quick counter defense, in Loren Weisman’s view.

  • An attack can come from a competitor, an angry person, an ex employee or an ex partner.
  • Someone in PR or publicity looking across everything about you may spot what could pose a problem.
  • Content made ahead of time can simply share what happened instead of defending it.
  • A lie may fly around the world before the truth takes off, so a prepared response can matter.
  • Many stories may get destroyed by how people responded, or did not prepare, more than by what they were accused of.

Crisis Management Optics: The Full Transcription

Being Prepared Before Someone Attacks

Are your be prepared crisis management optics available should something happen to you? My name is Loren Weisman. I’m a brand, communications and optics strategist. Now, you never know when someone is going to go on the attack, whether it’s a competitor, whether it’s somebody that’s angry with you, an ex employee, an ex partner, whatnot.

However, if you know certain things that somebody might attack and you know what their perception is and what your intention is, or for that matter, the truth of the matter, to have those optics readily available to counter if need be is a great idea. This can come in the form of a video that you put up.

Maybe it’s not something that’s going to go trending wild, but it’s something that you stand by, let them be able to dig, let them be able to see a response and oftentimes an older response. It could be a blog, it could be an article, it could be some stuff that you automatically know to heart.

Finding What Could Pose a Problem

But if somebody was to come pounding at you, are you going on a defense or are you pointing them to the elements that you already had prepared? This can be a great root of crisis management.

If you have someone like myself or someone in PR or publicity look across the gamut of you and see certain things and identify something. Okay, what’s this? Okay, this could pose a problem. Maybe this could cause a problem.

Someone could take this out of context. Somebody could use this to fire a little attack on you. And depending on how you respond, even if you’re in the right, it can be harmful to reputation, it can be harmful to the online reputation, it could be harmful to whatever deal that you’re putting together.

Simply Sharing, Not Defending

So this sort of preemptive preventive maintenance optics of having someone look across who you are, ask you the questions and then say, it might be great for you to have a short video or a long video or a blog or a podcast that talks about these elements. Now you’re not talking about it in a crisis management way, you’re not talking about it in a counter response defense, you’re simply sharing.

This is something that’s, you know, this is something that happened. This is a little bit more about what happened. This is, you know, the proof of it. And in that it may disarm, dissolve and just deaden any kind of attack down the line.

When a Lie Gets Around the World

Now other people that don’t prepare for these things, they get an attack and then they’re going into, if they’re big, a news cycle of trying to respond, of trying to flip the story, of trying to sometimes convince, even when they’re coming at a place with the truth, you look at certain individuals, you have that, what is it?

That line where it says a lie can get around the world, it can fly around the world three times before truth takes off from the airport. And that is often unfortunately, the truth.

Pointing People to a Dated Response

So to take the time to have the elements inside your communications to prepare for those people that might come at you and having those responses and also dated responses that this is up there and out there and was up there prior, this person did this and they, you know they’re coming on the attack and as opposed to some kind of quick counter response or counter defense.

I don’t know why this person is saying this here. Let me point you to an older article. Let me point you to a video. Let me point you to something that we discussed about what this was about and having them understand with a little bit of time, a little bit of endurance what happened.

Why Optics Matter

Optics matter. And especially when you’re growing something, when you’re building investment behind it. Many people get destroyed. Their stories get destroyed.

Not because they lied, not because they even did some of the horrible things that maybe they were accused of, but more so how they responded, how they didn’t respond and how they didn’t prepare for those type of people that are out there. Because there are those type of people out there, they are going to attack, they’re going to punch, going to try to drag you down.

Maybe it’s an ex partner, maybe it’s somebody that doesn’t like you, maybe it’s a competitor, maybe it’s just an evil person all around. So prepare your optics with constant, continual, uniform content that showcases if they might be able to attack on these things.

Here’s your defense and it’s an advanced defense that may help you in the long run.

Protecting Your Brand in My Talks

Persevering Protection Measures: protecting and promoting your brand, persona or product.

Questions and Answers

What are crisis management optics?

Crisis management optics can be the videos, blogs, articles or podcasts that share your side of a matter before anyone attacks it. They may give you something already published to point people to if someone comes after you.

Why prepare for a reputation attack before it happens?

Preparing before an attack can let you point people to elements you already had ready instead of going on the defense. People who do not prepare may end up in a news cycle trying to respond and flip the story.

How can older published content help during a reputation attack?

Older published content can show that your side was up there and out there before the attack came. A dated response may disarm, dissolve and deaden an attack down the line, as Loren Weisman sees it.

Who can help spot what might be used against your reputation?

Someone in brand communications, PR or publicity can look across the gamut of who you are and ask the questions. They may spot something that could be taken out of context and used to fire an attack.

Why do some stories get destroyed in a reputation attack?

Some stories may get destroyed not because someone lied, but because of how they responded or did not prepare. Even when you are in the right, the way you respond can harm a reputation or a deal.

More Videos and the Podcast

Loren Weisman is a Brand Communications and Optics Strategist who specializes in illuminating authoritative intelligence and amplifying authentic experts.

Weisman is the host of the brand communications and optics podcast Wait What Really OK.

© 2011 to 2026 Loren Weisman. All Rights Reserved ® ℗

Crisis Management Optics: Prepare Before an Attack

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