CALS312 - Engaging Your Risk Communication Audiences

Course Description

Audiences do not encounter risk information as blank slates. Their understanding of risk is shaped by personal experiences, values, cultural influences, social contexts, and perceptions of those communicating the information. Effective risk communicators recognize that successful communication depends not only on explaining hazards clearly but also on understanding how different audiences interpret uncertainty and decide whom to trust. Building effective risk communication begins with understanding these social and psychological dimensions of risk perception and how people interpret risks differently that may affect them and their communities.

In this course, Professors Katherine McComas and Dominic Balog-Way will guide you through the process of identifying, characterizing, and evaluating audiences. You will explore the cognitive shortcuts people use when evaluating risk, examine the social and cultural factors that influence risk perceptions, and discover why different groups often respond to the same risk in markedly different ways. You’ll also consider the vital role of trust and trustworthiness in effective risk communication and public engagement.

Through international case studies and practical exercises, you will develop practical strategies for identifying audience concerns, recognizing meaningful differences across communities and cultures, and communicating in ways that build credibility, foster trust, and support more effective risk management.

The following course is required to be completed before taking this course:

• Mapping Your Risk Communication Strategy

Faculty Author

Benefits to the Learner

• Characterize how audiences perceive your risk
• Analyze your audience’s broader risk context
• Demonstrate your trustworthiness

Target Audience

• Communications directors and PR managers responsible for communicating about risk across their organizations and externally
• Risk communication and country risk teams developing communication strategies before challenges or incidents arise
• Public information officers at health, environmental, and food safety regulatory agencies in the U.S. and Europe
• Risk management leaders at pharmaceutical, chemical, biotech, and energy companies operating in highly regulated environments
• Health, emergency, and public safety managers communicating hazards to the communities they serve
• Executives, operations leaders, and project managers who oversee or coordinate risk communication without formal training in the field
• Technical specialists, analysts, marketers, and professionals in advocacy, education, and public lands whose roles include communicating about risk

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

• Strategic Risk Communication : Core Courses