Communication for Increased Safety

Strengthening communications to be effective may be a good investment of time for each citizen's own life. Reading recommendations of 'what to say' is good but reading recommendations of 'what not to say' may be of higher value.

One phrase you may want to get out of the habit of saying is, "I don't know."

Saying "I don't know" has resulted in people getting arrested, terminated from employment, evicted, and out of relationships they didn't want to lose.

Saying "I don't know" could flag the listener to [wrongfully] think that the speaker is ..

• not educated
• not aware [of what is happening; of what is going on; of what has happened]
• a cohort in crime or an accomplice to a crime
• vulnerable

Good replacements to the reply or statement "I don't know" may come from the following suggestions or your own planning:

• "I don't have that data."
• "I was driving, but I wasn't involved in the incident."
• "I experienced a burglary [crime]."
• "The neighbor is new: I have not met him or her yet."
• "I'll have to talk to _____ [my spouse; family; supervisor; attorney; etc]."
• "I was driving safely, sir, but the passenger began interfering with my ability to drive safe [a violation of the law occurred by the passenger, not the driver]." [Naming the guilty party to authorities right away [without hesitation and without sympathy] may save you from a wrongful arrest. ]
• "I'll have to think about it." [This statement may buy some time when you have to gather your thoughts.]
• "Honestly, I'm not the one to ask or I do not think I'm the one to ask. I have no experience in that area."
• "I don't talk about my personal life, sir."
• "Actually, I'm not the decision maker."
• "I estimate that he sped past me at 80 mph, sir." [Again, putting the focus on the guilty party can avoid you getting wrongfully arrested.]
• "I'm not tasked to that part of the project. Do you need my help in finding the resource who has been tasked with that job?" [Not letting others direct your work and duties may be of high value to you.]
• "If I knew who committed the crime, I would tell you but I do not have that data."
• "I'm reporting burglary SUSPECT(S) who have been seen at my front door or on my property and who have QUICK ACCESS to my front door, so you can investigate the suspect(s)."

• "I can tell you who my insurance carrier is but I have to get the card from my wallet first."
• "I'm a safe driver, so I don't have to look at my insurance card often...I have auto-pay setup and I don't have to look at my carrier data anymore."
• "I know my address, but I have to verify it first as I want you to have the full correct data. It's a new address schema in a new city."

Victims sometimes have to have time to gather their thoughts.

The reaction "I don't know" could be a result from years of Wars, attacks, crimes, threats, programming or other abuse. Criminals and culprits like victims to sound unsure and to have no answer … so victim(s) cannot easily think of and use words to report criminals or culprits quickly.

Police, Fire, Sheriff's and additional authorities like to collect data, so always having a plan of what to say may be a perfect way for you to stay on your life's path as you planned it.

Saying a phrase such as, "I was just ____ [driving safely; walking northbound; crossing the street on the crosswalk path; experiencing interference with my ability to drive ]" may tell the listener or authorities that you're …

• aware of what's going on
• you're stating that you obey the law; you're a good citizen
• you're specifying somebody else is the guilty party, not you
• you have a regular routine
• you're being professional

In additional words, authorities or listeners may think that your specific statements lead to positive thoughts...that you're on the crosswalk [not in the middle of the road]; you know what a 'crosswalk' is; you're a citizen [not a criminal; not a culprit]; or you have a weekly trip to the grocery store. That type of 'effective communication plan' can help you manage your own life and fame in your community and on-record with authorities.

Source of 'planning what to say' is the author's mother, who became known as Cathie McCormick of Denver, Colorado and South Dakota. The author has had 10+ years interviewing and problem solving experience as a Business Analyst and Computer Programmer for all levels of government.

©Copyright 2021. All Rights Reserved. Claire Leigh Huckfeldt.