Planning your escape while your house is engulfed in flames is, arguably, the worst time to try to develop an escape plan. Surprisingly, countless business leaders take this approach to crisis communications management; trying to make a plan to save the business as metaphorical flames lick at their hands and feet.

The smart move is to have a comprehensive crisis communications plan in place long before you need to use it. However, given the relative lack of thoughtful crisis communications planning among many organizations, the next best strategy is to try to navigate the crisis as best as possible without getting too badly burned.

If your business or non-profit lacks a crisis communications plan, but you find yourself trying to manage a crisis situation, here are five steps you can take to try to minimize the damage:

Gather the Facts

The worst thing an organization can do early in a crisis is make assumptions or speculate. The outcome of your crisis will be shaped largely by your initial response. What can you verify? Start with what happened, when, who was involved and how you expect this event to impact your organization’s stakeholders and the public. Keep emotion out of it, recognizing emotions will run high in a crisis. Remember, we all have different perspectives and opinions when we’re asked to recount a situation. This is where you must insist on only dealing with verifiable facts.

Assemble Your Team

Typically, this includes one or more people in leadership, your organization’s attorney and one or more crisis communications professionals; either your in-house communications person or an experienced public relations agency specializing in crisis work. Empower the team to examine the situation and guide the course of how you will message to internal and external audiences.

Take Control of All Communications

From answering phones and the receptionist greeting guests to the intern handling your social media and the company daily email newsletter, your crisis communications team has to have complete control over all your communication channels. It’s best to deactivate comments on your Facebook page, pause your company newsletter and instruct everyone answering phones or greeting the public to direct all questions to a member of the crisis communications team. Everyone must be in sync in managing how your organization communicates in the middle of a crisis situation.

Be Consistent in Your Messaging

While it is important to adapt your messaging as facts present themselves, the messaging strategy and tone you and your crisis communications team agree to should remain consistent. Shifting the premise of your messaging will only create chaos, creating further confusion and eroding trust in your organization’s ability to manage the situation. There is also a tendency by some to question the strategy if an immediate resolution does not manifest. Recognize that once in a crisis, there are no quick fixes but often rather only a series of unpleasant realities. Managing a crisis in progress is about being patient and, frequently, picking the least damaging option available among several less-than-ideal options.

Do Not Lie

A final point on messaging: don’t lie. Don’t guess and don’t try to obfuscate. As noted in step one, your messaging must be fact-based. You should never try to spin your way out of a crisis as doing so almost always leads to making matters worse. Be honest, even when painful. And while legally you may be advised to not admit guilt, there are ways your legal and communications team can work together to provide fact-based and forthright messaging that will ultimately move you toward a more positive outcome in crisis situations.

Applying the above steps can help your team better manage a crisis and help ensure you aren’t completely overwhelmed by circumstances, some of which may not be of your organization’s making or in its control. But when in doubt, contact a professional crisis communications team. Your reputation and bottom line are worth the investment.