From Panic to Power: The 90-Second Rule for Handling Haters

When the internet comes for you, your instinct is to fight back or disappear. Neither helps. In this episode, Molly breaks down her simple, proven 90-second rule for handling online hate without losing your cool or your credibility.

You’ll learn:

• Why outrage online is a revolving door (and why it’s never really about you).
• How to recognize when your brain has flipped into fight-or-flight mode—and what to do about it.
• The golden rule of when not to apologize (and where to respond instead).
• How to move from panic to power in less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee.

If you’ve ever dealt with critics, trolls, or just plain mean people online, this one’s for you.

Bonus: Want to learn how to respond to any crisis with confidence?

Join Molly’s free live training: The First Hour: How to Respond to Any Crisis Before It Spirals

You’ll discover:

• The 3 critical steps every communicator must take in the first hour of a crisis.
• The biggest mistakes that tank trust (and how to avoid them).
• How to draft a holding statement in minutes instead of hours.

Spots are limited—grab yours now HERE. 

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Need a Keynote Speaker? Drawing from real-world PR battles, Molly delivers the same engaging stories and hard-won crisis insights from the podcast to your live audience. Click here to book Molly for your next meeting.

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Episode Transcript

Molly McPherson (00:00):
I want to start this episode with a quick
invitation.
I'm hosting a free webinarcalled The First Hour: How to
Respond to Any Crisis Before ItSpirals.
Because here's the truth.
When a crisis breaks, the clockstarts ticking.
And what you do in those first60 minutes will either calm the
storm or pour gas on it.
In this session, I will walkyou through a proven framework

(00:22):
for managing that critical firsthour.
You'll learn the three stepsevery communicator must take
immediately.
The biggest mistakes peoplemake that tank trust and how to
draft a holding statement inminutes instead of hours.
And finally, why speed andclarity matter more than being
perfect.
These are the strategies andtactics I use with my clients.

(00:45):
I am holding two sessions onOctober 22nd at 12 p.m.
and 3 p.m.
Eastern, and a third session onOctober 23rd at 1 p.m.
Eastern.
Spots are limited, so grabyours now.
I'll drop the link in the shownotes.
All right, now let's get totoday's episode.
Today I want to give you my90-second rule for handling

(01:08):
haters online.
The people who come at you pileon and try to hijack your peace
of mind.
I know.
90 seconds.
This is going to be a quickie.
Ready?
The rule is simple.
Imagine you're a brand online,or maybe you own a business
online, and all of a sudden thehaters are coming for you.

(01:29):
Caveat.
This is if you didn't doanything wrong.
Sometimes people say things orreduce things, or there's
something in our businesspractice that we could have done
differently.
In that case, you need to do awhole different set of rules.
This 90-second rule is just forhandling the haters, just the
people who come at you when it'snot warranted.

(01:50):
All right?
Ready?
Set your watch.
Here we go.
Step one, remember you're notthe first and you won't be the
last.
Online outrage is a revolvingdoor.
People come for you and thenthey'll move on to the next
target.
Don't take it personally.
It's a cycle.
Step two, know your real enemy.
It's not the person leavingcomments, it's the algorithm.

(02:13):
The algorithm thrives onoutrage.
It wants you rattled,defensive, and reactive.
Your job is to outsmart it.
Don't feed it.
Step three, reclaim your brain.
When haters attack you when youread all the comments, your
amygdala in your brain fires up.
That's your fight or flightresponse.

(02:33):
And it clouds your judgment.
The fix, pause, breathe, callsomeone you trust, give your
rational mind a chance to catchup before you hit post or make
that next decision, which couldbe a bad decision.

And here's my golden rule: don't post an apology video on (02:49):
undefined
the same platform where you'rebeing attacked.
Many times you don't need toapologize.
That's like throwing blood intoshark-infested waters.
If you truly need to clarify,do it somewhere else, your
podcast, Facebook, or even alive interview.
And if you really haven't doneanything wrong at all and it's

(03:11):
just a coordinated smear, ignoreit, but keep an eye on it.
You can respond indirectly, onyour own terms, and in your own
space.
There it is, 90 seconds.
That's all it takes to shiftfrom panic to power.
Forget the haters, outsmart thealgorithm, and keep moving
forward.

(03:32):
That's all for this week on thepodcast.
Thanks so much for listening.
Ignore them.
Bye for now.