Face-to-Face communication RL

Face-to-Face communication

Face to face communications serves as one of the most effective methods to communicate risk to an audience, through some form of oral presentation. There are many different tactics that encompass the area of face-to-face communications. These range from small group settings to one-to-one interactions as well as video presentations.

Face-to-Face communication seems very similar to the previously discussed stakeholder participation. Face-to-face differs from that of stakeholder participation in that “only one of the groups involved do most if not all of the talking” (one way communication) L&M 250.

Constructing the message

The first step must be to understand how to reach and communicate to your audience. Secondly the communicating organization must decide who will lead the face-to-face interaction. “The two key criteria in choosing the person who will lead the face-to-face interaction (the organizational spokesperson) are audience acceptability and organizational acceptability” (L&M 251)

In order to achieve audience acceptability it is important that the organizational spokesman have un-impeachable credibility. It is also important to furnish the audience with someone who can respond to the concerns of the audience, as well as respond to the audience in a way the group will find acceptable. “From the audience’s perspective, then, the best spokesperson is one who is credible, responsive to concerns and a believable speaker.

Many factors also go into meeting organizational acceptability as well. The authors point out in cases when the audience will be doing most of the talking, is the spokesperson a good listener? For cases when the spokesperson will be doing most of the talking does the person have the training to give speeches? Depending upon the organization there are other factors that will insure the success of the spokesperson from the organization’s point-of-view.

In order to be effective during face-to-face communication it is important to give the audience something to take away, (even if it is “duck tape and plastic sheeting to help guard against terrorism”), unless you reinforce the presentation with written materials such as fact sheets, the audience may not take away or retain the information you intended. That being said be sure to include visual aids whenever possible. (L&M 254-255).

Another principle to guide the face-to-face communication upon would be to never promise something you can not deliver. As one responds to an audience it is easy to promise to give information, knowing that you may not be held personally responsible for the information, if the information is not given out subsequent to that offer then that audience will remember the lapse and may let others know that the organization fails to live up to its promise thus depleting its credibility. (L&M 257)

Here is a check list of types of face-to-face communications

Speaking Engagements
Speakers Bureaus
Tours and Demonstrations
Video Presentations
Audience Interviews
Information Fairs
Training
(L&M 256-268)