Table 3.3 Risk communication skills of spokespersons.
| Category | Skills/profile |
|---|---|
| Interpersonal communication | Is able to convey empathyIs an effective active listenerIs respectful of the emotions, concerns, values, and beliefs of othersUses personal pronouns and words such as “I,” “we,” and “our”Is able to talk about shared responsibilitiesCan be eloquent, creative, innovative, and imaginative |
| Knowledge | Is able to answer basic questions about the issue in questionIs able to convey clear, accurate, and factual messages with confidenceIs able to reinforce messages with visuals and experienceCommunicates a workable strategy |
| Trust/credibility | Is associated with a respected organization or institutionIs able to use nonverbal communication to enhance trust and credibilityIs able to make a personal connection with the target audienceIs able to communicate hope and optimismIs able to communicate self‐sacrifice, determination, and restraint |
Table 3.4 Eight ways to avoid mistakes with the media.
| Follow These Guiding Principles |
|---|
| Your words have consequences – think about them in advance and make sure they are the right ones. |
| Know what you want to say, say it, and then say it again; don’t over‐reassure or offer guarantees. |
| If you don’t know what you are talking about, stop talking; never say anything you don’t want to see as a media headline. |
| Focus on informing people, not impressing them. |
| Use everyday language. |
| Be the first to share bad news. |
| Don’t speculate, guess, or assume. When you don’t know something, say so. Don’t say “No comment” as you will look as if you are hiding something. |
| Don’t get angry; when you argue with the media, you are likely to lose – and you will lose publicly. |
Experts often operate on the assumption that they share a common framework with their audience for evaluating and interpreting risk information. However, this is seldom the case. People consider complex emotional, psychological, cultural, qualitative, and quantitative factors when defining, evaluating, and acting on risk information. Different assumptions, considerations, and definitions – such as what dimensions (values) to consider in an analysis or how to measure a particular consequence – produce different evaluations. People inherently trust their own evaluations and distrust evaluations by others. One of the costs of mistrust is the reluctance to believe risk information provided by leaders, risk managers, and technical experts, especially those from government and industry. Efforts to overcome such mistrust require, at a minimum, a commitment to enhanced risk assessment, management, and communication.
3.2.2.1 Case Study: “Go Hard, Go Early”: Risk Communication Lessons from New Zealand’s Response to COVID‐19
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took on the role as leader of New Zealand’s response to COVID‐19 and became the national spokesperson for the crisis. On 26 March 2020, she announced New Zealand would enter its second lockdown to eliminate the spread of COVID‐19. Her 26th March announcement and the communications that followed demonstrated best practices of risk, high concern, and crisis communication: be first, be right, be credible, be clear, listen, express empathy, promote action, show respect, and involve stakeholders as partners.
New Zealand thought it had eliminated the COVID‐19 after its first lockdown. However, an outbreak in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, indicated that COVID‐19 was not defeated. Ardern believed a second, stricter lockdown was needed if the country wanted to eliminate the virus.
In shaping her strategy, Ardern recognized that New Zealand enjoyed advantages not shared by other countries in its response to COVID‐19. These included geographical isolation, a civil political environment, recent experience with crises and disasters, and a small population. She described the lockdown as part of a larger COVID‐19 elimination strategy that would prevent additional illnesses and deaths. The lockdown would help the country shift focus from managing community transmission to prevention, control, vaccines, and therapeutics. The elimination strategy would also help eliminate further income and ethnic inequities in the number of COVID‐19 hospitalizations and deaths.
To gain attention and raise public awareness of the government’s change in strategy, she needed a motto. In a 14th March speech, she said: “We must go hard, and go early, and do everything we can to protect New Zealanders’ health.” Multiple traditional and social media outlets repeated her first few words. Combined with strict border controls and high compliance with lockdown measures, Ardern’s motto became, “Go hard, Go early.” Her goal was to stamp out the virus that causes COVID‐19 wherever and whenever it comes back. Her strict controls worked.
Ardern’s COVID‐19 strategy was grounded in risk and crisis communication fundamentals. First, she announced the government would engage in an aggressive public communication program focused on creating clear, concise, and consistent messages about the need for frequent hand washing, cough etiquette, mask wearing, and social distancing. Similarly, instructions for lockdowns were shared through an emergency alert prior to the lockdowns. She created a COVID‐19‐dedicated website so people could easily find information. She had COVID‐19 information translated into 28 languages in an attempt to reach diverse communities. She ensured the communication materials had excellent visuals and graphics.
Second, Ardern committed to move fast. She said her strategy would be “evidence‐and science‐based;” “Go hard, Go early” was not just a sound bite. Facts and science would drive politicians like herself. She reminded people that when COVID‐19 first surfaced in New Zealand, she acted quickly to contain the virus, despite consequences for agriculture and tourism and blowback from politicians and the public. She committed to this course until no active cases remained. This was despite considerable political pressure from businesses and members of her own governing coalition. She demonstrated an understanding of the importance of speaking quickly.
Third, as the nation’s leader, Ardern committed herself and her government to transparency and honesty. She admitted her policies would have large negative consequences, and there were large uncertainties about these consequences. Ardern also admitted her policies were likely to have disproportionate consequences for disadvantaged populations and large uncertainties remained about these consequences. She demonstrated the importance of showing caring and understanding.
Fourth, Ardern acknowledged her COVID‐19 strategy might not work as planned. Ardern listened carefully to her Health Department and the 11 members of the Department’s expert advisory committee. She explored the costs, risks, and benefits of options and alternatives to strict control with these experts. The consensus was that none would work. The floodgates needed to be closed, recognizing the ultimate elimination of COVID‐19 would depend on developing effective vaccines.
Fifth, Ardern communicated her COVID‐19 strategy required a wide, diverse, and often painful array of control measures. She would listen carefully to stakeholders so these control measures could be tailored to local needs.
Sixth, despite myths about panic in disasters, she expressed confidence in the ability of her nation to come together. She created a campaign built on the