Can We Talk? Best Ways to Communicate

During a crisis, time is important. Now that you have completed the Notification/Coordination Roster for this crisis in the previous activity, you know that there are groups and individuals that need to be contacted, either for notification or coordination. Some have a higher priority than others and require a more personal face-to-face conversation, while others can receive their information over the phone or through other means.

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As the Spokesperson and Liaison Coordinator, Roshanna has identified six different ways that her office can get information to those on the roster. For this activity you are to check the best way(s) to communicate with each group or individual. Remember that sometimes you may need to communicate the information in more than one way.

When you are finished, click “How Did I Do?” to see what Roshanna decided should have been done during this crisis.

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Obviously, every situation is different. Use the best communication methods to get your information to those who need it. Remember to always be aware that time is a valuable resource during a crisis. Always use your time wisely.

  Notifications
Communication Channels
1.

State Health Department Medical Officer

Roshanna knows that communications can sometime get misinterpreted. She believes that a face-to-face meeting would be the best. Also, she realizes the importance of summarizing the meeting’s information in an e-mail for quick reference in the future.

Face-to-Face Meeting  e-mail
2.

State Health Department Director

The State Health Director is also a high priority, so they should be included in a face-to-face meeting. A summarizing e-mail should also be sent after the meeting.

 Face-to-Face Meeting  e-mail
3.

Governor’s Office

After this crisis, Roshanna realized how important getting the correct information to the Governor’s Office is. She knows that it would be best to meet face-to-face if at all possible, and to follow up with an e-mail.

 Face-to-Face Meeting  e-mail
4.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

More than likely, it would have been impossible for Roshanna to leave during the crisis to meet with various organizations within the CDC. In this case, a telephone conversation would have been best, following it up with a summary e-mail. Also, since the CDC handles the entire nation, it might be impossible to speak directly to the manager over the office. In this case, leaving the information with a knowledgeable assistant would be acceptable.

telephone  e-mail
leave message
5.

Media

Roshanna has learned that giving the media coordinated facts up front can potentially stop problems before they begin. There are several ways to get the information to various media outlets: telephone, e-mail, and fax. As soon as possible during the crisis, interviews with the public information officer or other authorized spokespersons should be offered to the media.

telephone  e-mail
fax
6.

State Hospitals

State hospitals were quickly overwhelmed once the virus began to spread. A telephone call early in the crisis could have given some advance warning to hospitals. Specific information about symptoms and treatments could have been sent by e-mail or fax. As the outbreak continued, more data was collected. Sending an overnight delivery of large documents might have been more efficient and cost effective than faxing.

 telephone  e-mail
fax  overnight delivery
7.

Schools

Although it would be impossible for one individual to call every school in a state, it would be possible to contact the State’s Director of Education by telephone, e-mail, or fax.

 telephone  e-mail
fax
8.

State Health Departments in Neighboring States

A telephone call to the state health departments of neighboring states could have helped to slow the spread of the virus. Advance warning is a good defense. Also e-mail and fax could be used for information sheets.

 telephone  e-mail
fax
9.

State Police

Although the state police were not official spokespersons or information channels for the crisis, they were likely to receive many calls from concerned citizens that needed to be directed to the state health department. A telephone call, followed up by a fax or e-mail to the state police chief providing the proper contact information would ensure that all state police chief operators would forward the calls correctly. Overnight delivery of large informative documents might also be an option.

 telephone  e-mail
fax  overnight delivery
10.

911 Centers

Much like the state police, 911 centers were likely to receive calls asking about the virus. Up-to-date information over the telephone about general symptoms and suggested precautions would have been useful to the operators. Since managers of 911 centers might be difficult to reach, it would be okay to leave the information with an assistant. If there is particular information that should be given to callers, a sample script with the information could be sent either by e-mail or fax. Large documents could be sent by overnight delivery.

 telephone  e-mail
leave message  fax
overnight delivery
11.

Local Business Associations/Unions

Organizing a meeting with local business associations would be ideal; however, time, staffing limitations, and the need to travel to distant locations throughout state might prevent that. A combination of face-to-face meetings (where feasible) and telephone calls to either the individuals or their assistants would be the best combination of options. Information sheets could also be faxed.

 Face-to-Face Meeting  telephone
leave message  fax
12.

Local Transportation

A combination of face-to-face meetings (where feasible) and telephone calls to either the individuals or their assistants would suffice for contacting local transportation operators. Also, faxing information sheets would be useful.

 Face-to-Face Meeting  telephone
leave message  fax

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