Knowing Your Audience and Communication Release

Knowing Your Audience and Communication Release

In 2010, 33 Chilean miners were trapped underground in a San Jose mine. Nobody  ever expects to encounter a situation like this until it happens. In this type of situation what does the employer tell the families of those who are trapped in the mine? What does the company tell its employees? These are some of the many questions that people do not prepare or anticipate themselves for having to answer and deal with when a situation of this magnitude comes along. These types of communications must be handled delicately and with the audience in mind. What are some considerations to remember given the different roles and people in the audience?  In this paper I will be taking an in-depth look at the importance of effective communication in crisis situations like this, the potential needs of the families of the miners in receiving a message about this incident, and the possible needs of the company's employees when receiving a message about this incident.

Effective communication aids us to improve the understanding of a person or situation as well as allows us to rectify differences, form trust and respect. As modest as communication may be, much of what we attempt to communicate to others and what others try to talk to us gets misconstrued, which can cause clash and frustration in both personal and professional interactions. When a crisis happens, immediate communication is necessary. When dealing with a situation that has life or death possibilities hanging in the balance there are essential things a person has to remember when communicating with the families of the victims and employees in this matter because of the different roles and persons in the audience. If the audience is not taken into consideration when conveying a message, the communication could be lost, misunderstood, or incomplete. This could leave the audience misinformed and angry. The sensitive nature of the crisis with the Chilean miners can be a terrible situation to address to the families of the miners trapped and the employees of the mining company, but it's critical to address the manner

Apparently accuracy is essential anytime an organization communicates with the public. People want accurate information about what happened and how that event might affect them. The time pressure of a crisis can cause the threat of erroneous information.  Inaccuracies with information presented to an audience can make an organization look unreliable. I believe the best channel of communication when addressing the Chilean miner's families is to gather all families to have a face to face communication such as about the mining incident. When communicating with the families, there should be a sense of empathy and sympathy directed toward them.  I believe face to face communication gives the audience a personal touch; you can show your compassion when addressing the families. Communication to the families should be prompt so that they do not have to hear about what happened to their loved ones on the news.  Nobody likes to be the last to know about anything especially when it comes to your loved ones so ensuring that the families are addressed first before the media is crucial.