The Statement Stress-Tester: a free AI tool for crisis statements

Find the holes in your statement before anyone else does.

Most crisis statements are written fast, passed between too many people, and only reach the people they were meant to reassure once they've gone out. By then, the gaps are public.

The Statement Stress-Tester checks a draft before it leaves the building. Paste in a holding statement, a press line, an apology or an alert. It asks you a few questions about the situation, then works through the draft the way a hostile journalist, a sceptical employee and an affected person would.

What it checks

• Whether the statement says plainly what happened, and what is still unknown

• Whether it speaks to the people affected, or to "the general public"

• Empathy: whether the human impact is named, or buried under process and stock regret

• Accountability: blame shifted onto others, apologies that name no wrong, promises nobody can keep

• Emergency alerts and corrections: who sent it, where, when, and what to do now

• Phrases that cost you, from "don't panic" to "this is not who we are"

What you get back

A short report with a verdict, the six hardest questions your draft invites, up to five lines to change, and the facts to confirm before release. It also tells you what already works, so you don't cut your best lines when you revise.

How it's built

The checks follow the Message Framework Cycle I use with clients: Situation, Risk, Response, Action and Reassurance. With the help of AI, they were refined against real statements from recent years, both praised and criticised. The tool runs on AI and applies a fixed checklist. It never approves a statement and gives no legal advice. The judgement stays with you.

What's in the download

One four-page PDF. It explains what the tool does and gives you five short steps to start. The prompt sits in a clearly marked box, ready to copy into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot or any other AI assistant. A final page shows how to save it as a reusable skill, so you don't have to paste it in every time. No install, no account to set up.

Before using it on a live incident, check your organisation's rules on sharing information with AI tools, and remove anything you're not allowed to share.

Who it's for

Communication, risk and emergency management professionals who write or sign off statements under pressure. It is useful if you're a team of one with nobody to read your draft back to you, and it works as a training exercise for larger teams.

How to get it

It is free. Enter your email address to subscribe to Wag The Dog, my weekly newsletter on crisis, risk and emergency communication, and the download is yours.