1. Presentation 4.1: Communication Foundations

2. Outline Why bother How to communicate effectively Consider the sender Engage the audience Consider the message Deal with misunderstandings Summary

3. Why bother? Public agencies need public support Resource management is more successful with public support Public support is based on understanding resource goals and techniques Understanding is based on communication

4. Challenges in the interface Audiences are more varied Issues may be contentious Audiences may not have experience or background knowledge Issues involve many aspects All this makes communication challenging!

5. Discussion Question What wildland-urban interface issues are particularly challenging to communicate? Why?

6. How to communicate effectively

7. What is communication? Communication is the successful transmission of thoughts or ideas, without significant distortion, so that understanding is achieved. This requires  effective transmission  reception  input into mental structures

8. Common barriers to effectiveness Transmission  Sender not credible or trustworthy Reception  Message lacks clarity (language or speed)  Receiver has experience, prior knowledge  Receiver beliefs and attitudes conflict Input to mental structures  Message is irrelevant  Receiver is not listening

9. Easy strategies to improve communication Choose an appropriate, well respected authority on topic as “sender” Create a message that is easy to understand; use appropriate language Make the receiver comfortable

10. Tips to effective communication Effective communication helps your audience build a mental model in their heads Connects new information to what they already know Adds detail, examples Increases flexibility Engages them

11. Exercise 4.1: What Went Wrong?

12. Exercise 4.1 Directions In each group, recall or develop an unsuccessful communication experience and write it on your card. Switch cards with another group and analyze their blooper. What is the problem? What might improve it? Share your ideas with the other groups.

13. Consider the sender

14. If we don’t communicate … Bernhard Fernow, founding figure in American forestry and Dean of Cornell’s Forestry School Started clearing and burning to create a demonstration forest in Adirondacks, 1899 Neighbors complained Governor vetoed authorization; Cornell’s College of Forestry ceased to exist

15. But when we do… USFWS biologists joined Mississippi barge captains to better understand when and why they tie up to islands, damaging nesting habitat. Working together, they designed and erected concrete pilings for emergency stops.

16. Good communicators Trustworthy Engaging Care about what the audience cares about Accessible Elementary students watch their computer screen to learn about this turtle

17. Earning trust Agency materials should  make a point of acknowledging and addressing questions and complaints  demonstrate how prior activity supports a partnership  offer to continue the conversation Consider using a partner that is trusted

18. Exercise 4.2: Perception is Reality

19. Exercise 4.2 Discussion Questions How do you think your agency is perceived? Which perceptions help the public believe and understand your message? What attitudes do you convey that could affect perceptions? What can you do differently to improve perceptions?

20. Engage the Audience

21. Important techniques, but harder to accomplish Avoid saying what audience already knows Relate to what audience cares about and is interested in Deliver message through medium that audience uses And so we need to understand the audience!

22. By understanding the audience, we can make sure… Sender is appropriate, well respected Message is clear, not garbled Message is meaningful and relevant Information builds on what is known Misunderstandings are corrected The right audience is targeted

23. What can you do? What are the most important things to find out about an audience before you plan a program? How can you find out that information?

24. What do you know? Who is your audience? What do they care about? What do they already know about interface issues? What values are important? Where do they go for information? Who do they trust?

25. A blooper SAF Chapter wanted to distribute new video on forestry careers to teachers Invited 100 5 th grade teachers to dinner and program 4 came What was the problem? The 4 th grade curriculum addresses local resources and careers, not 5 th grade. What would have helped: Initial conversation with “audience” could have ensured invitations went to the right teachers.

26. Techniques to gather data Conversations Exercises Interviews Focus Groups Observation Surveys

27. Using values For people to do the hard work of building a mental model out of your information, they need to know the information will be relevant, meaningful, useful. Connect your message to things they care about

28. What do they care about? 1. Ask them 2. Check the literature 3. Some things are universal:  Children, health, quality family time 4. Some things are cultural:  Privacy, community, convenience, future, frugality 5. Community leaders may have concerns:  Fiscal responsibility, election, media coverage

29. Exercise 4.8: Knowing the Community

30. Exercise 4.8 Directions Using the worksheet, review what you know about the group of people with whom you will communicate. How could you find out more?

31. Why engagement? Some people want straight, undiluted information Others need to be entertained Most do not want to be told what to do, even though you want to tell them! Try to engage audiences in learning

32. Engaging youth Youth audiences can be engaged by an exercise or worksheet. Discovering, matching, naming, counting, and competing with other groups can be effective.

33. Engaging adults Adult audiences may respond well to questions that get them to think and share their ideas. The right series of questions can lead the audience to realizing new ideas, without you telling them!

34. Stories and examples  Provide concrete imagery  Explain how to do a task  Explain how to overcome problems  Demonstrate that real people can do it Extremely helpful elements of effective communication

35. Group discussions Asking the audience to work together  Enables them to share their experiences  Engages them in solving a problem  Changes the pace and structure of a workshop  Gives the presenter a break

36. Don’t preach People don’t like being told what to do  “You should …” People respond to threats by retreating or defending themselves  “If you don’t do … bad things will happen” Guilt is not a motivator for most They need to figure out the right answer

37. Exercise 4.3: Questions to Build Understanding

38. Exercise 4.3 Directions Using the worksheet, develop a series of questions that could help lead an audience to an understanding of a wildland-urban interface issue and how they might reduce the problem.

39. Consider the message

40. Language differences Technical jargon may be a barrier to your audience Ask them what they understand Translate materials to their language

41. The language of conservation Public opinion research suggests that some phrases resonate better than others and are better at communicating a conservation message Not “endangered species”But “wildlife protection” But “natural areas” But “agreement” Not “open space” Not “easement”

42. Effective messages instill responsibility, provide information, support values Protect your water supply How to remove Brazilian pepper… Keep your cat safe and healthy--indoors Clean your boat; check for mussels

43. Background information Provide background to help readers make sense of the issue. Tell why, where, what the consequences would have been. This alone rarely is convincing

44. Make the text interesting Active voice Action verbs Concrete examples Short sentences Common words Organizing statements Interesting topics Boring brochure?

45. Threat and fear can backfire Make sure the message includes how to prevent the problem with reasonable easy steps. Don’t paralyze people with guilt or fear.

46. Procedural information Provides details about how to complete an action.  Which plastics to recycle  What question to ask  Where to find native plants  How to fertilize trees Critical if lack of information is a barrier to action

47. Impact information and feedback People like to know what will happen if they take this action People need to know that they’ve done it correctly People are rewarded by information about their success Look for ways to communicate past success and current progress

48. Exercise 4.4: An Edict to Edit

49. Exercise 4.4 Directions With your group, edit your technical card to make it easier for the public to understand. Share your results with others.

50. Deal with Misconceptions When a deeply held notion prevents someone from understanding your message

51. A communication gap? Keep your cats indoors ● My cats don’t kill birds Create defensible space ● I like my trees nearby Test your home for radon ● Natural things can’t hurt Clearcuts give seedlings ● Clearcuts destroy forests more sunshine

52. People may not understand They don’t share your background They have made sense out of experiences That shapes how they accept new information Their understanding is different from yours! It depends on what they know and how they think

53. If I think… I feed my cat sufficiently  Then my cat is not hungry  And therefore will not hunt Fires jump across highways and firebreaks  Then I would have to clear hundreds of feet to protect my house Radiation is caused by power plants and microwaves  Then the rocks and ground are safe

54. Underlying the assumptions may be misconceptions That my cat deserves to go outside That the goal of defensible space is keeping fire away from a home Natural is good; synthetic is bad

55. A strategy 1. Listen to questions and explore how people perceive the issue 2. When you understand the misconception, acknowledge it 3. Explain why it is insufficient 4. Explain your information and message 5. Show how it is more sufficient at explaining the issue

56. “I know you take good care of your cat – does it like to pounce on toys? Might it pounce on anything that moves?” “Fires jump large distances – and they move quickly across the forest. By removing nearby fuels you can shorten the time the fire is close to your home and reduce the chance that the house will ignite from the heat.” “A variety of natural things are dangerous to humans, from poison ivy to arsenic. Radon is found in this part of the country. It emits radiation.”

57. Putting It All Together

58. Exercise 4.5: Connecting Prose to People

59. Exercise 4.5 Directions What makes text relevant to a particular audience? Revise your edited technical card to make it relevant to the audience on your Audience Card. With your group, try to make your message relevant to all of your audiences.

60. Exercise 4.6: Critique Brochures

61. Exercise 4.6 Directions Using brochures from several agencies, look for good examples of good communication Complete the worksheet Share ideas with the other groups about ways to improve communications

62. Case Study 9: Karst Habitat Restoration in Arkansas

63. Case Study 14: A Multi-Agency Initiative: Water Education in Kentucky

64. Case Study 15: Outdoor Environmental Classrooms in Oklahoma

65. Summary Build understanding Reduce conflict Engage community members Convey trust and relevant expertise Use appropriate language Use relevant examples Listen and correct misconceptions Practice good communication

66. Credits Slide 2: USDA APHIS PPQ Archives, www.forestryimages.org Slide 3: www.beeng.com Slide 4, 6, 20: Shruti Agrawal Slides 7, 9, 13, 23, 27, 31, 34, 35, 36, 39: Larry Korhnak Slide 14: Library of Congress Slide 15: J Madden Slide 16: M Haddon Slide 17: Washington State University Slide 33: G Traymar Slide 40: www.angelascards.co.za Slides 44, 47: South FL Water Management District Slide 46: US Army Corps of Engineers Slide 43: Eagle Vision Communication