ACT NOW: A Six-Step Crisis Communication Strategy    

Because a crisis by nature catches people unprepared, every organization must have a crisis communication strategy firmly in place to guide those involved through the rough, uncharted waters. An effective strategy is a what I call A-C-T N-O-W: (1) Anticipate disaster before a crisis, using risk management techniques. (2) Care about people affected. (3) Tell what you know immediately. (4) Note your next steps. (5) Offer help to reinforcements. (5) Write press kits and other pieces of public information. Since crisis mismanagement can lead to the end of the company, effective preparation for a crisis may well save your company’s life.

Reimold, Cheryl. STC Proceedings (1995). Presentations>Management>Risk Communication>Crisis Communication

Hazard Communication 101 for Technical Writers  

Hazard communication should help protect users of products, and by doing so, should help protect manufacturers from litigation. Writers of user documentation need to understand some basic product liability legal concepts, such as: duty to warn, open and obvious doctrine, hidden hazard, andforeseeable misuse. The communication aspect of hazard communication considers issues such as visibility, over-warning, and testing effectiveness. For guidance in writing warnings, there is a current standard which proscribes these elements: safety alert symbol, signal word, hazard, avoidance, and consequence. This paper ends with a list of resources for further study.

Manning, Michael D. STC Proceedings (1997). Presentations>Communication>Risk Communication

Health and Safety Information for Specialized Vocational Audiences  

Using examples from commercial fishing and farming, this article shows how models of health beliefs and risk communication can inform the creation of health and safety materials and campaigns for specialized vocational audiences. These models state that risk communication efforts must balance strong statements of risk with equally strong statements of ways to reduce or avoid risk if they are to motivate change. Audience research can help communicators address attitudes that impair workers’ perceptions of risk, as well as workplace practices, norms, and conditions that the limit the methods that can be used to reduce risk.

Freeman, Krisandra S. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Communication>Scientific Communication>Risk Communication