When I told Peter Sandman about the banana speech, he laughed. Dr. Sandman is a risk communication expert based in Princeton, N.J., who has spent much of his long career advising scientists to avoid doing things like answering in bananas when the question is milk.
“The right comparison is the food they’re talking about,” Dr. Sandman said. “You can say: ‘The average amount is X. Now we’re seeing Y.’ ”
“It’s very bad risk communication to communicate in ways that make people feel as if you think they’re stupid,” he said.
He said he had worked with nuclear scientists who were irritated by the public’s ignorance about radiation, but were also proud to be recognized as experts. Pride plus irritation, he said, can be a recipe for pronouncements that come off as pompous and condescending. Mix in an agenda — whether it’s the urge to reassure people, or to stir them up — and the message can really backfire.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/health/12essay.html?src=recg
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