The Art of Strategic Communication
A Police Chief’s Guide on Mastering Soundbites, Storytelling, and Community Engagement
The Art of Strategic Communication transcends ordinary thinking about managing crises, critical incidents, and community conversations. Talk to your community through the media. With thought provoking strategies, leaders can follow a proven structure to connect with a wide array of audiences, navigate a crisis or emergency, and proactively create compelling content that resonates and influences your community. Lessons from real-world experiences will assist leaders, strategic communication advisors, public information officers, command-level personnel, and supervisors solve community problems through best practices in communication.
If you want to add immense value to your public safety or governmental organization, then this expert resource guide was created for you. Chief of Police Christopher Cook takes readers through an easy-to-follow roadmap with checklists, pro tips, and blueprints that lead to better media relations, elevated trust in communities, and greater influence through storytelling.
Find your technique to conquer tough situations through an extensive and systematic method to approach incidents and messaging. Master the art of soundbites and key messages. Learn how to do a better job in telling your organization’s story using social media, videos, audio podcasts, web content, blogs, agency apps, reports, publications, and so much more. Leverage traditional media to act as a force multiplier to inform and educate your community.
As the only policing executive in history to serve in the top leadership positions of the three largest law enforcement communicator groups in the world, Chief Cook has the credibility and experience to share industry best practices. With almost three decades of experience as a chief spokesperson and deputy police chief for the 48th largest city in the United States and now serving as top cop in a small suburban agency, he brings a well-rounded perspective that will resonate and benefit small, medium, and large organizations. Chief Cook has served as the Chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Public Information Officers Section, Chair of the Major Cities Chiefs Association Public Information Officers Committee representing 78 of the largest police agencies across the U.S. and Canada and was President of the National Information Officers Association.
Chief Cook testified before the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. He is an accomplished scholar and author on numerous publications produced by the U.S. Department of Justice, Police Executive Research Forum, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, and Office of Justice Programs. Chief Cook has taught over 7,500 officers, communicators, and leaders since 2011 at various schools and conferences across the U.S. and Canada. He has been involved in hundreds of interviews and press conferences across local, regional, national, and international broadcast networks.