Page 77 - Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience

46 Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilence

Strategies for the Effective Development of
Risk Communication Messages

To communicate effectively about risks, messages must be carefully
framed. One of the most powerful tools available to risk communica-
tors for developing effective risk communication messages is the “mes-
sage map.”
A message map is an organized means for displaying layers of informa-
tion. A message map template and example are provided in Appendix A at
the end of the chapter. A message map is a lens through which principles
for effective risk message development can be focused into effective and
powerful communication.
A message map contains detailed, hierarchically organized responses
to anticipated questions or concerns. It is a visual aid that provides, at a
glance, the organization’s messages for high-concern issues. The message
map template enables spokespersons to meet the demands of the public,
the media, and other interested parties for timely, accurate, clear, concise,
consistent, credible, and relevant information.
Message maps are constructed as a hierarchy of messages at increasing
levels of complexity. The first layer of the map identifies the audience, or
stakeholder, for the message map as well as the question or concern that
the message map is intended to address.
The next layer of the message map contains the key messages, which
function singularly and collectively as a response to a stakeholder question
or concern. The key messages also can serve singularly or collectively as a
media sound bite; sound bites are critical to successful media interviews.
The next tier of the message map contains supporting information,
which is blocked in groups under the key messages. These supporting
messages amplify the key messages and provide additional facts or details.
Supporting messages can also take the form of visuals, analogies, personal
stories, or citations to credible sources of information.
As a strategic tool, a message map affords multiple benefits. For example:

• Message maps provide a reference for leaders and spokespersons who
must respond swiftly to questions on topics where timeliness and accu-
racy are critical.
• Message maps provide spokespersons with consistent messages that can
be delivered across a wide spectrum of communication channels.
• Message maps provide a standardized, unifying framework for dissemi-
nating information about a wide range of risk issues.