Importance of different communication styles, methods, and approaches.
you have learned the importance of different communication styles, methods, and approaches. Now, you are learning about crisis communication techniques and how to use them to effectively communicate. This assignment will help you practice identifying when to use different crisis communication techniques in different situations.
Choose which crisis communication techniques you would use at different points of time in two different scenarios.
Scenario One
You are working as a Department of Children and Families (DCF) counselor, and you are meeting with a young, single mother at the DCF office. The mother is present with a close female friend, and you, as the DCF caseworker, must deliver a custody order from the family court. The mother has been deemed temporarily unfit to care for her daughter, who is two years old. As the meeting begins, the mother is seated in a chair, holding her daughter. The mother thought the meeting was a regular monthly meeting and does not know that she is about to lose custody of her daughter. You tell the mother about the custody order stating, “I am sorry about this, but this is the best for your daughter, and you, right now.” The mother begins to cry loudly and is refusing to let go of her daughter.
At this point, what crisis communication technique would you use to immediately handle the situation, and why?
An hour has passed; the mother still will not comply.
You now need to change your choice of crisis communication technique to handle the situation. What crisis communication technique would you use now, and why?
Scenario Two
A security officer (SO) at a local power plant responds to a report of a small group of protestors at the main gate to the property. The SO observes five demonstrators with signs demanding cleaner plant emissions, and they want to deliver a letter to the president of the power company. When asked, they state they will not leave until they deliver the letter. The ages of the demonstrators range from 65 to 80 years old. The SO advises the group, “You are trespassing on private property. I have called the police, and you will be subject to arrest if you do not leave.” The group responds loudly, “Hell no, we won’t go!” When the police arrive, the group is again told to leave. In response, they begin to blow bubbles at the officers.
Acting in the role of the police officer, what crisis communication technique would you use in this situation, and why?
Specifically, the following rubric criteria must be addressed:
Identify a crisis communication technique to immediately handle the situation in Scenario One.
Provide a rationale for the identified technique to immediately handle the situation in Scenario One.
Identify a new crisis communication technique for Scenario One.
Provide a rationale for the new crisis communication technique for Scenario One.
Identify a crisis communication technique for Scenario Two.
Provide a rationale for the identified technique in Scenario Two.
Sample Solution
In this situation, I would use the active listening technique as a crisis communication technique. Active listening is when we focus all of our attention on the speaker, including both verbal and nonverbal cues, in order to better understand their message. This can help de-escalate any tension or conflict by showing that we are actively engaged with them and attentive to what they are saying (Hawkman et al., 2014). Additionally, active listening helps create a sense of trust between both parties which is especially important in cases like this where there is an obvious power disparity between the officers and protestors (Gaudard & Gaudard, 2006).
The goal here would be to not only understand what it is the demonstrators want but also why they feel it necessary to protest in such a way. By engaging in conversation with them I hope to get them to see that there may be other ways for them to reach their goals without having to resorting violence or breaking laws, while at the same time gaining their respect for my ability as an officer to empathize with their cause.
