The first 10-15 seconds of human contact is far more critical than many of us realize. In the first few seconds that someone sees us [either face-to-face or across a room] an involuntary assessment is made. If that assessment is unfavorable, then - unless the person is skilled at looking beyond appearances - it can be difficult or even impossible to overcome that by later action. It is recognition of such an evaluation that some communications reserve units require uniforms.
In the San Diego RACES publication "TAC-ONE", Gerry Sandford, Deputy Chief RACES Radio Officer, KC6BJM put it this way: "Why do we wear them? Identification, thatÕs why! Our only mission is to support government agencies. All unit participants working in the field or at any Emergency Operations Center throughout the county must be recognizable by other agencies working an event as part of the solution not part of the problem. Every government agency in the county wears a uniform."
Another vital human contact element revolves around the first words we use, especially on the telephone. On the telephone we have maybe 5-to-20 seconds to capture attention successfully! Some people, on answering the phone, donÕt make a mental switch from what they are working upon at the time. For them the phone call can be quite disruptive. Accordingly, we can fail to successfully communicate if we are not capable of causing a happy mental switch. Did you ever call an agency and get the feeling that the responding person just wanted to get you off the phone, even when their job was to answer the phone?
Remember the first 5-to-20 rule! That's the moment to capture the other persons mental awareness in a positive and interesting way with meaning and benefits to THAT person. It takes practice and skill to do that in some cases. Our first few words can be all determinative. We can say, "This is Sam Jones of the ABC agency. I want to talk about..". Or we can say, "Is this Bill Walters?" (the responding tone indicates the mental state...impatience, etc.). "This is about the storms over the weekend. This is the Alta. County emergency management agency, Tom Jones here. Do you have time to discuss that at this time?"
Even in a face-to-face encounter, those first few seconds of speech make all the difference in how we are perceived. It can take months and years of effort to overcome something we did/said in those first few seconds if we are unaware of how our appearance and/or words affect others!!
For emergency management agency officials a related aspect of the "first few seconds" is this: Amateur Radio Operators - at least those who are trained in emergency response - are by their very nature accustomed to instant response. Most can access their radio in less than 10 seconds, whether asleep or awake! That trait is one that can be beneficial to your agency in an emergency. In the long history of Amateur Radio there are many instances of where their 'instant response' capabilities have provided life-saving communications to their communities
Another vital human contact element revolves around the first words we use, especially on the telephone. On the telephone we have maybe 5-to-20 seconds to capture attention successfully! Some people, on answering the phone, donÕt make a mental switch from what they are working upon at the time. For them the phone call can be quite disruptive. Accordingly, we can fail to successfully communicate if we are not capable of causing a happy mental switch. Did you ever call an agency and get the feeling that the responding person just wanted to get you off the phone, even when their job was to answer the phone?
Remember the first 5-to-20 rule! That's the moment to capture the other persons mental awareness in a positive and interesting way with meaning and benefits to THAT person. It takes practice and skill to do that in some cases. Our first few words can be all determinative. We can say, "This is Sam Jones of the ABC agency. I want to talk about..". Or we can say, "Is this Bill Walters?" (the responding tone indicates the mental state...impatience, etc.). "This is about the storms over the weekend. This is the Alta. County emergency management agency, Tom Jones here. Do you have time to discuss that at this time?"
Even in a face-to-face encounter, those first few seconds of speech make all the difference in how we are perceived. It can take months and years of effort to overcome something we did/said in those first few seconds if we are unaware of how our appearance and/or words affect others!!
For emergency management agency officials a related aspect of the "first few seconds" is this: Amateur Radio Operators - at least those who are trained in emergency response - are by their very nature accustomed to instant response. Most can access their radio in less than 10 seconds, whether asleep or awake! That trait is one that can be beneficial to your agency in an emergency. In the long history of Amateur Radio there are many instances of where their 'instant response' capabilities have provided life-saving communications to their communities
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