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Effective Crisis Communication During Water Security Emergencies
Author(s) -
Minamyer Scott
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.2008.tb09719.x
Subject(s) - key (lock) , crisis communication , construct (python library) , risk communication , computer security , public relations , computer science , internet privacy , business , risk analysis (engineering) , political science , programming language
This article discusses effective crisis communication as a key responsibility of water utility officials and public information officers during emergencies. Mental noise theory, a primary construct of risk communication, is discussed in the article and indicates that when people are extremely upset, they often have difficulty hearing, understanding, and remembering information. The challenge for risk communicators is developing a limited number of key messages that are brief, credible, and easily understood. The article presents a powerful tool available to water sector crisis communicators for identifying and developing key messages called message mapping. The article discusses several principles that come into play when developing messages for high‐stress situations. A sidebar is included in the article presenting the three key points of message mapping.