Abstract
This article discusses effective crisis communication as a key responsibility of water utility officials and public information officers during emergencies. Mental noise theory, a primary construct of risk communication, is discussed in the article and indicates that when people are extremely upset, they often have difficulty hearing, understanding, and remembering information. The challenge for risk communicators is developing a limited number of key messages that are brief, credible, and easily understood. The article presents a powerful tool available to water sector crisis communicators for identifying and developing key messages called message mapping. The article discusses several principles that come into play when developing messages for high‐stress situations. A sidebar is included in the article presenting the three key points of message mapping.
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