The Trusted Informant: Showing Empathy to Build Credibility

Abstract

We can provide information to the public, but what if no one is listening? Public mistrust of nuclear industry representatives stands as a barrier to successful communication of factual information on health, safety, and environmental impacts of small reactors. In this paper I demonstrate with reference to social science and marketing research how empathy can help to gain trust and dispel misinformation when communicating with potential host communities and the broader public.