How to communicate to the public 8th Beijing/Hong Kong Medical Exchange – Community Health Services & Family Medicin

1. How to communicate to the public8th Beijing/Hong Kong Medical Exchange – Community Health Services & Family MedicineNovember 11, 2006 Dr. Thomas Tsang Consultant (Community Medicine), Centre for Health Protection Department of Health

4. Why is public communication important?為何與公眾溝通是這樣重要? • Skills required for public communications ≠ individual patient counseling (與公眾溝通的技巧≠個別病人輔導) • Establish trust and credibility (建立信賴及信任) • Well-informed public can make decisions that foster good health (充份了解情況的公眾能為自己健康而作出良好決定)

5. Communicating in crisis於發生危機時的溝通

6. Golden rules金科玉律 • Build trust (建立信心) • Announce early (及早公佈) • Be transparent (充足透明度) • Respect public concern (尊重公眾看法與感受) • Plan in advance (未雨綢繆)

7. Build trust建立信心 • Expressed empathy (表達同情心) • Competence (能力) • Honesty (誠實) • Commitment (承諾) • Accountability (責任)

8. Announce early及早公佈 • Timing is everything (時間就是一切) • Bad news doesn’t get better with time (壞消息不能隨時間變好) • Problems (問題) • Scant information (有限的資訊) • Doubtful information (不確定的資訊) • Not your information (他人的資訊) • Unease at political / scientific level (在政治及科學的層面感到不安)

9. Be transparent充足透明度 • Not knowing is worse than knowing (不知道比知道更差) • Say what you know, what you don’t know, what you do (說出你所知、你所不知、和你做甚麼) • Address limits (指出限制)

10. Respect public concern尊重公眾關注的事 • Diversified but legitimate (多樣但合理) • Essential to compliance (對公眾依從是必需) • Show concern, explain and address issue (表現關注，解釋及指出問題) • Avoid (避免) • Attacks (攻擊) • Condescending or judgmental phrases (高傲或批判的詞語) • Promises or guarantees you can’t make (你未能做到所保證的承諾)

11. Plan in advance未雨綢繆 • Part of preparedness planning (應變計劃的一部份) • Senior level endorsement before crisis occurs (在危機來臨前得到高層支持) • Includes (包括) • What needs to be done? (需要完成甚麼？) • Who needs to know? (誰需要知道？) • Who is the spokesperson? (誰是發言人？) • What agency has the lead? (由甚麼機構主導？) • Who needs to act? (哪一個人／部門需要行動？) • Limits to planning (計劃的限制)

12. Communicating in ‘peacetime’在“和平時期”的溝通 • Different techniques from crisis situation (在危機形勢的不同技巧) • Health promotion and social marketing skills (健康推廣及社會行銷技巧) • What are your target groups of communication? (溝通的目標群是甚麼?) • What is the appropriate medium of communication? (甚麼是合適的溝通媒介?) • Liaison building with stakeholders (與相關機構人士建立聯繫) • Seize opportunities for newsworthiness (抓緊有新聞價值的機會)

13. The public’s attention span公眾的注意力

14. Leverage on ‘events’運用事件

15. Time your messages計劃時間傳遞訊息

16. Be persistent堅 持 不 懈

17. Basic concepts for a successful public meeting • Let people talk • The more people talk, the more successful they’ll judge the meeting • Ask questions • Wait for their questions before you offer solutions. The key is not to offer solutions to problems rather help the audience discover solutions • Every person’s input is met with respect • Never do anything to discourage participation • Tell the truth • Admit when you don’t know something • Don’t lose your temper • People show up angry usually if they have been hurt (even emotionally), feel threatened by risks out of their control, feel they are not respected, or have had their fundamental beliefs challenged. Set aside your anger. Instead strive to understand.