COVID-19 has demonstrated how difficult it is to communicate effectively when we are thrust into unfamiliar roles and forced to use unfamiliar tools. Now more than ever, it is important to know how to communicate effectively during a crisis. You can minimize the negative impacts of crises on students, staff, and your local communities by planning ahead for the crises you're most likely to face: natural disasters, human disasters, tragedies involving staff or students, and inappropriate behavior involving staff or students. This lecture will review best practices during all phases of a crisis and cover all three areas of impact–safety, reputation, and financial. With good planning, you're more likely to communicate with everyone, including special populations: English learners, those without internet access, and many others. We'll review disaster response teams, messaging for key audiences, templates to streamline communication, and relationships with community partners and the media.