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People Don't Like Bad News

We are fighting the ostrich-like tendencies of people.

We have all heard the term "like an ostrich" and perhaps used it ourselves  "S/he is putting her or his head in the sand, avoiding the situation."

It turns out that not only is the term correct, there is something in our brains that makes us wired to avoid getting more information, if we think that information will turn out being bad for us. I highly recommend you either read or listen to this Hidden Brain podcast.

This aspect of how humans behave has huge implications for us as emergency managers and how we present preparedness messages. Maybe instead of forecasting dire consequences if people don't get prepared, we should be talking about how great you will feel and how you will be the hero in your business or family when it was you who saved the day.

 

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.