Virtually all communications about risks should include a discussion of what control measures and precautionary actions are being taken. In most risk situations, actions speak louder than words. Often, actions are what people most want to know about. People want to know what you are doing to prevent an accident or how you are preparing for the possibility, not how likely you think one is. People want to know what you are doing to reduce emissions, not just how much is being emitted and how many deaths or illnesses may result. People often care about the competence and conscientiousness of the plant manager more than about the risk itself. Many people perceive mismanagement, incompetence, and lack of conscientiousness as the central issues in risk assessment. Explaining what you have done, are doing, and plan to do to reduce and manage the risk is at least as important as explaining how small you think it is. Bear in mind that people may be much more willing to listen to what you have to say about how small you think the risk is after you have explained what you are doing to make it still smaller. At the same time, present information about plant safety records, drills, and other efforts to protect people and the environment – for example, programs to reduce or eliminate chemical odors.