Peter Sandman
Comments without Answers

Years ago I had an argument with a federal agency PIO on the concept of “speaking with one voice.” I told the DoE PIO that to expect the state and the counties (in Idaho at that time) to “speak with one voice” with the feds was not only undoable, but unrealistic. I suggested, and he grudgingly agreed, that at best we’d try to speak “in harmony.” Kinda like a song where the melody is recognizable, but the verses are different. It seemed to have worked well.

And thanks for your efforts. I’m currently doing some part-time consulting/teaching and frequently refer to your work when I’m doing crisis communication seminars.

I gave a presentation to this kind of audience recently, and (luckily) said a lot of what you said

I assume this has been shared with those who need to act, regarding both the present economic danger of bird flu and the inevitable arrival of a human pandemic sometime in the future.

I am a toxicologist that works for a law firm. In my work I tend to serve the lawyers in the firm as clients, helping them with theirs, and other clients directly. The expertise called for in my work tends to be diverse, and thus requiring some learning regardless of the specific area. Web sites such as yours make it easier to serve my clients and to function effectively as a scientist without extensive trial and error research.

Based primarily on information from your web site I can effectively recommend that a client seek a communication expert for solving a specific problem in its community. Most importantly I can do so with some authority and explain some of the important issues to them.

Besides that, I am sure I am onto something... forensically speaking all the nylon fibres since whenever are floating around in smaller and smaller pieces...yes? And lots of other more persistent fibres too. Now chopping boards and nylon shirts love to grow bateria and other microbial life. Synergizing these ideas makes a HUGE surface area that is breathed in (and out) by a myriad of sentient beings...

Also these are commonly vapourised and or oxidesed by electric heaters by fan or convection with highly hazardous combustion products yes?

Love to hear a comment
geoff moxham alias Profssor Pullaparts

I chuckled as I was reading, learning, thinking. The words are so down-to-earth (no pun intended). Examples, “ “It’s the outrage, stupid,” is what Dr Peter Sandman would have told him… risks that honk people off are entirely different. … Either my client screwed up or my client screwed over the rest of us. Usually my client screwed up, but doesn’t want to say so. I find myself urging the stupidity defense.”

Opening our eyes to different cultural reactions is a good thing. “Take an issue that is likely to get framed as a control issue in the U.S. In Germany, it will probably be a trust issue. Where people in the United States are basically saying, “How dare you control my life,” in Germany they’re saying, “I want a more reliable parent, a more trustworthy boss.” ”

Some words put Stephen R. Covey’s (1989) approach, “seek first to understand, then to be understood,” into practice. For example, “…companies are posing the wrong question when they ask, “How can we make the public stop seeing the nature and degree of industrial risks the wrong way?” “Instead,” he says. “they should ask, What is it we’re doing that justifies this reaction?”

Wisdom and advice sprinkled with humor, all at the touch of a button!

THANKS! I’ll be a frequent visitor as new articles are posted.

BTW, I’m an EPM 4370 student at DU embarking on a career change from software development to environmental management.