The Persuasive Influence and Efficacy of Public Relations in Mitigating Fear During Crisis Situations

This study examines essential communicative standards for message content to reduce public anxiety during global crises, explores integrating Public Relations (PR) into institutional decision-making, and proposes a functional model for PR-led fear mitigation. Using a descriptive-analytical methodology rooted in library-based research and qualitative content analysis, the study synthesises scholarly perspectives with operational data from the European Confederation of Public Relations (CERP) to evaluate PR's evolution from a technical speciality to a strategic driver of institutional value. The findings show that strategic PR plays a critical role in information management, rumour control, and restoring public trust. Specifically, organisations achieve effective crisis containment when they deliver transparent, actionable guidance that directly reduces collective fear and aligns public opinion with institutional goals. Ultimately, this paper concludes that organisational resilience during multifaceted global crises depends heavily on strategic PR planning, professional spokesperson deployment, and trust-based engagement, offering a practical framework for communication professionals to navigate high-anxiety crisis environments.