The Annenberg Public Policy Center released a poll showing that just 71% of Americans think approved vaccines are safe – down 6% since April 2021. Just 63% think the COVID-19 vaccine is safer than getting COVID – a decline from 75% in 2021. This in spite of the fact that ...
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Public anger is a fact of life in America today and most of those who work with the public are fully aware of that. We teach those people how to effectively engage with communities and deal with omnipresent opposition and anger. It’s often assumed that anger is a bad thing ...
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I can’t think of a better argument for brevity and quality than one that’s been around for more than a century and a half. Those of us who went to school when “civics” (or something like it) was a thing probably learned at least parts of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. Delivered ...
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Video meetings aren’t as effective as being face to face. You’re probably not shocked to learn this. Our world changed with the COVID pandemic; we thought we were out of business until video meeting platforms like Zoom and Teams came riding in like the proverbial cavalry to save the day. ...
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Of course complaining about propaganda might make us feel momentarily better, but finding solutions is what this requires. Pre-bunking is a place to start. That’s a clever term for a simple idea: address the propaganda right up front. Instead of just hoping that your message and facts will stick, anticipate ...
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If you’re not quite sure whether or not to take disinformation seriously, consider the fact that people have suffered, and will likely continue to suffer, legitimate physical harm because of it....
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The word existential might be approaching overuse right now, but I think that the biggest existential threat to the work that we do with the public in democracy and for the greater good may likely be the proliferation of disinformation. Weaponized propaganda and bull$#it amplified by the current cultural climate, ...
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I told you my story of the pants at the top of this blog which, I hope, helps clarify the importance of the myriad of non-verbal factors involved in conveying knowledge and nurturing understanding in others. Because so much of the work that you do involves working with groups, those ...
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Someone that I was working with recently suggested, in a snarky kind of way, that engaging the public boils down to just being nice to them. Of course, there’s a teensy more to it than that which prompted a conversation about the meaning of nice. We all know nice people; ...
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This very simple, very short read makes clear, important points about the dichotomy between what we say and what others hear. We’ve said for a long time that communication, especially with a concerned and often skeptical public, has far less to do with what you’re saying but has everything to ...
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