EMS World Expo Preview: Improve Your Communications

In the weeks leading up to EMS World Expo—North America’s largest EMS-dedicated event—EMS World is spotlighting select preconference sessions to learn more from their featured speakers on what makes their presentations timely, informative, and worth attending. In this installment we speak with Rob Lawrence, Mark Tenia, and Alexia Jobson, who will present “Winning the War for Attention: How to Cut Through Communication Clutter in an Era of Nonstop Noise” on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, in Orlando. Learn more and register at www.emsworldexpo.com.

Over the last several decades, communication has evolved so dynamically that the ease with which we do it may be blamed as the reason we do it poorly. Be it an email, text, or voice note, there is always a shortened way to communicate. But is that easy access part of the reason we’ve become poor communicators?

In this workshop EMS World Expo attendees can take a condensed dive into the basics of communication and learn why doing it consistently well will save your organization the hassle of backtracking to correct the fallout of doing it poorly.

“EMS leaders and anyone who wants to attend will find the content beneficial,” says Rob Lawrence, director of strategic implementation at Prodigy EMS in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “We want to get across that communication doesn’t just come down to the folks doing public relations. Everyone needs good communication skills. A lot of projects fail because of poor communication.”

Internal and External

This 4-hour workshop concentrates on both internal and external communication. One of the main points its faculty hopes to deliver is just how important it is to make sure your message is being heard accurately—there’s often an abundance of information available to muddy the waters, especially for EMS leaders. Attendees will gain the proper tools to stop bad information and redirect it.

“A good rumor will always beat you to the end of the parking lot,” says Lawrence. “To get those processes right internally comes down to the fact that this is a function of leadership that comes from the top out, and also from the out into the top.”

How do we stop poor communication? Mark Tenia, public relations/media manager for the Richmond Ambulance Authority in Virginia, explains, “One of the first things we do [each morning] is pick up our phones. We are inundated with a ton of information. How do you make sure what you’re putting out and want out is heard within context? How do you gain an audience? We’ll explain that you’re not a lone ranger out there… There are opportunities to share consistent information and messaging that can help you break through the clutter and build an audience you might not be able to build on your own.

“Being conversational is also a focus in EMS,” Tenia adds. “It’s easy to get lost in jargon and medspeak. Make sure everyone understands how important it is to have conversational messaging with everyone in your audience. Keeping it easily digestible helps get your message home.”

Handling the Press

Of course good communication involves talking with the media as well. Challenge those you put in front of the camera to communicate at a level everyone can understand. Leaders and representatives must speak to be understood.

Alexia Jobson, APR, NREMT, director of public relations at REMSA Health in Washoe County, Nevada adds, “It’s important to create opportunities for 2-way dialogue. Whether people are communicating with employees or their stakeholders, communication should be an exchange. Even when there are important points to convey, people expect—particularly in today’s connected culture—to be able to share opinions, ask questions, and deliver feedback. It’s our job to learn how to constructively engage that and process it.”

Why is this so important now? “From my perspective, being in EMS for a short amount of time after coming from television,” says Tenia, “one of the things I’ve seen is a renewed interest and stress on focusing on communicating well. I don’t think, historically, EMS has thought too much about communication. Now we’re starting to pay more attention to how important that is—be it securing funding, vaccinations, etc., we need good communication now. This is happening in a time when we’re seeing misinformation and disinformation increase annually.”

Lawrence adds, “Regardless of the stress, we have to be able to tell the story to generate income and support to help us with the future. Good PR and publicity are the way forward. We went into overdrive during the pandemic to promote what we were doing. Getting the message right is a key activity.”

EMS is notoriously bad at telling its story because it competes with so many other things. We have to be our own publicists and share our successes.

“Many people would agree EMS and out-of-hospital health care are on the edge of a precipice,” says Jobson. “Our profession plays a hugely important role in the health of every community. We must continue to tell our story to our external stakeholders to generate support and understanding, as well as advocate for what our agencies need to be sustainable.

“Even more important, probably more now than ever, we need to engage and inspire EMS providers and staff. We need to recruit and retain people who understand the future of EMS and want to be a part of that. I believe creating connections with employees is essential. Relevant, transparent, clear, and easily accessible communication is one of the most meaningful ways to create that connection.”

The Concept of Communication

The team explains that the concept of communication is very basic: If you’re not communicating, you must start. And if you’re not talking about your calls, others are—and maybe about you. That’s where the problem lies, says Lawrence: If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.

“There are still organizations in the ‘no comment’ department, and that’s fatal,” he says. “But people still do it because they don’t have the tools, training, confidence, and sophistication.”

“When push comes to shove, you can’t TikTok, WhatsApp, or email the patient or the media,” says Tenia. “We’re hoping we get a wide array of attendees, and if you think this doesn’t apply to you, I would still encourage you to come. You might be surprised.”

Leah Sobon is a freelance writer and paramedic at the Region of Peel, Ontario, Canada.