BCOM/275
Knowing Your Audience
To the family of the trapped miners I would chose to use the face-to-face approach since such a sensitive matter at hand where their family member’s lives are at risk. The considerations that you need to keep in mind when addressing the family members is that many of them are going to be frightened and scared for the safety of their family members. You will want to have all your facts and be prepared to answer many difficult questions concerning the well-being of the miners and how long it is going to take to rescue them, as well as providing them with the facts about how this happened. A good thing to do in a situation like this is to offer professional counseling to the family members.
It is with my deepest regret to have to announce to you today, August 5, 2010, that one of our copper mines has experienced a collapse and has left 33 miners trapped approximately 300 meters underground. Currently we are working with rescuers to locate the miners and determine their condition and the conditions of the area they are trapped in. Once we make contact with them we will drill several six-inch holes to supply them with supplies, such as food, water, fresh air, medical supplies, and communications to aid in sustaining their health conditions until we are able to bring them above ground.
In all efforts to keep you updated about the conditions and progress of the rescue of your family members we will make it a point to offer face-to face discussions with everyone that is involved in the rescue. As the owner of the mine I understand that there are going to be many serious concerns, a wide range of emotions, along with some anger. The main concern for me at this moment is to make contact with the miners, establish a line of communication and path to provide supplies, and develop a plan to rescue every one of them. I ask that everyone remain as calm as can be and know that as
References: Brooks, B. (2010). Chile Mine Collapse: 2 Days of Food Stretched More Than 2 Weeks In MIne. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/25/chile-mine-collapse-2-day_n_693646.html