Columbia Southern University PIO Risk Communication Discussion Questions

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Columbia Southern University PIO Risk Communication Discussion Questions

Two Short Dicussion Board Questions.

  • If you were a PIO, would you engage in a debate with the public as a form of risk communication? Why, or why not?
  • RESPOND to Jared’s Response: Jared Lee :

I would stay away from an intentional debate with the public regardless of the reason. Particularly, with communicating risk to citizens it is important to be persuasive without being confrontational. Living in the Gulf Coast, a great example is the communication to citizens to evacuate for a hurricane. In the simplest of terms, the best thing we as PIO’s can do is warn the public early and often describing the danger they could be in. There will always be hold outs, if a person refuses to evacuate, the answer is not to debate the precaution, rather continue to educate on the risks and move on. Even scheduling a debate regarding a safety topic could place the organization in a bad light and give the public a false sense of what the agency stands for.