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Communicating in Risk, Crisis, and High Stress Situations: Evidence-Based Strategies and Practice. Vincent T. Covello
Читать онлайн.Название Communicating in Risk, Crisis, and High Stress Situations: Evidence-Based Strategies and Practice
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9781119081791
Автор произведения Vincent T. Covello
Жанр Отраслевые издания
Издательство John Wiley & Sons Limited
From the literature on risk communication, several crosscutting principles and guidelines can be extrapolated. They are described below. Although many of these principles and guidelines may seem obvious, they are so often violated in practice that it is useful to ask why they are so frequently not followed.
Figure 3.4 is a toolbox for putting these risk communication principles into practice. The toolbox contains templates and tools that will be discussed in later chapters of this book.
Figure 3.4 Communication templates and tools for risk, crisis, and high stress situations.
3.5.1 Principle 1. Accept and Involve All Interested and Affected Persons as Legitimate Partners
Two basic tenets of risk communication in a democracy are generally understood and accepted. Communities have a right to participate in decisions that affect their lives, property, and the things they value. Next, the primary goal of risk communication should not be to diffuse concerns or avoid action. It should be to produce informed individuals, groups, and populations that are solution‐oriented and collaborative. Success is measured largely by whether information has been exchanged and whether stakeholders have been informed and understand each other’s points of view.
Guidelines:
1 Show respect and sincerity by involving those interested or affected early, before important decisions are made.
2 Clarify you understand the appropriateness of basing decisions about risks on factors beyond only the magnitude of the risk.
3 Involve all interested parties and stakeholders.
3.5.2 Principle 2. Plan Carefully and Evaluate Performance
Different goals, audiences, and media require different risk communication strategies and practical tools. Risk communication will be successful only if carefully planned and designed for the specific situation and audience.
Guidelines:
1 Begin your planning with explicit objectives, such as: informing decision‐making by individuals and groups; motivating individuals and groups to engage in constructive action; or contributing to conflict or dispute resolution.
2 Evaluate the information you have about risks and know its strengths and weaknesses.
3 Identify different subgroups among your target audience and customize information to address their information needs.
4 Determine the specific subgroups in your audience and design your communication for each.
5 Recruit spokespersons with strong presentation skills, emotional intelligence, and personal interaction skills.
6 Provide risk communication training and skills for your leaders, managers, and technical staff.
7 Reward outstanding performance.
8 When possible, pretest your messages.
9 Carefully evaluate your efforts and learn from your mistakes.
3.5.3 Principle 3. Listen to Your Audience
People are often more concerned about issues such as trust, credibility, control, competence, voluntariness, fairness, caring, and compassion than about mortality statistics and the details of quantitative risk assessment. If you do not listen to people, you cannot expect them to listen to you. Communication is most effective when there is an exchange of information and active listening.
Guidelines:
1 Don’t assume what people know, think, or want to be done.
2 Determine what people are thinking: use techniques such as interviews, focus groups, face‐to‐face meetings, open houses, and surveys.
3 Acknowledge all interested parties and stakeholders.
4 Acknowledge the legitimacy of people’s emotional response to risks issues.
5 Provide feedback to people on what you heard and ask for confirmation.
6 Recognize the “hidden agendas,” symbolic meanings, and broader cultural, economic, or political considerations that often underlie and complicate risk and crisis communication.
3.5.4 Principle 4. Be Honest, Frank, and Open
Honesty and transparency play a large role in trust determination. Trust is your most precious asset when communicating information about risks or threats. Trust is difficult to earn, and once lost, difficult to regain.
Guidelines:
1 State your credentials but do not ask or expect to be trusted.
2 Disclose risk and crisis information as soon as possible, emphasizing appropriate reservations about reliability.
3 Do not minimize or exaggerate the level of risk.
4 Speculate only with great caution.
5 If in doubt, lean toward sharing more information, not less.
6 Discuss data uncertainties, strengths, and weaknesses, including those identified by credible sources.
7 Identify worst‐case estimates, citing ranges of risk estimates when appropriate.
3.5.5 Principle 5. Coordinate and Collaborate with Other Credible Sources
Allies and partners can be critically effective in helping you communicate risk information in crisis and noncrisis situations. Few things make risk and crisis communication more difficult than conflicts or public disagreements with other credible sources.
Guidelines:
1 Coordinate all interorganizational and intraorganizational risk and crisis communications efforts.
2 Devote effort and resources to the slow, hard work of building bridges, and relationships with important allies and partners.
3 Use credible and authoritative intermediaries to communicate risk and crisis information.
4 Consult with allies and partners about who is best able to answer questions.
5 Try to issue joint communications with trustworthy sources.
3.5.6 Principle 6. Meet the Needs of Traditional and Social Media
Traditional media outlets – such as radio, television, newspapers, and magazines – and social media outlets are prime sources of risk information. They play a critical role in setting agendas and in determining outcomes.
Guidelines:
1 Be accessible.
2 Respect deadlines.
3 Provide information tailored to the needs of each type of media.
4 Prepare in advance and provide background material on complex issues.
5 Follow up