Agenda: Diffuse Anger, Build Trust: Communicating with Key Publics

• Communicating with Key Publics: Opportunities and Barriers
• Why communicate with external publics?
• Identifying barriers to effective communication
• A planning process for communicating with key publics
• Identifying Goals, External Stakeholders and Key Publics
• Who are stakeholders and who is the "public"?
• What do key stakeholders want to know
• Learning From Our Experiences with External Stakeholders
• In small groups, participants will identify the concerns, information needs and perceptions of different external stakeholders
• The Power of Mindsets, Stereotypes and Perceptions
• Report outs from small groups
• How public perception is formed
• In small groups, participants will identify the perceptions, values and biases of different external stakeholders
• The Importance of Trust and Credibility
• Research on what makes a source credible
• Participants will practice skills in building trust and credibility
• Planning and Preparing for Public Meetings
• Why and when meetings are appropriate ways to communicate
• Planning for a public meeting: Before, During, and After
• Designing effective and credible messages
• Responding to Tough Questions: Part 1
• Responding to questions: A 5-stage model
• Working in small groups, participants will develop key messages and responses to tough questions for different stakeholder groups and meeting formats
• Responding to Tough Questions: Part 2
• Groups role play and videotape exercise. Participants from each of the small groups will role-play responding to the tough questions in various meeting formats
• Alternative Techniques for Communication with the Public
• Information and availability sessions
• Citizen advisory panels
• Company and community partnerships
• Dealing with Hostile Audiences and Diffusing Anger
• Tools and techniques for diffusing anger
• Handling questions from the media at a public meeting
• Preparing Key Company Staff to Communicate with the Public
• Company vs. public mindsets
• Developing consensus around key messages
• Evaluation: the key to successful follow-up
• Communicating with Key Stakeholders: Lessons Learned
• Participants identify key lessons from the workshop
• Wrap up, next steps and evaluation