Seismologists should watch words when talking earthquakes, paper argues

A Canadian seismologist is urging his colleagues to be more careful with their word choices when talking about earthquakes.

That message is the focus of a new paper by Geological Survey of Canada seismologist Maurice Lamontagne and his co-author Christine Goulet, aptly titled: Not Everyone Likes to Hear You Say, 'Earthquakes Are Fun.'

In the paper, Lamontagne and Goulet note that major seismic events can be exciting to scientists, but that they should be mindful when speaking to the public about them, because such events can often be devastating for the people experiencing them.

If they don't, Lamontagne said, scientists risk hurting their credibility and alienating people.

"We have to show people that we care about them so that they will start listening to what we have to say about aspects like earthquake preparedness, for example," Lamontagne said.

"We have to remain frank, but also people can connect to you if you show empathy, not only your scientific knowledge."

A world away

In the world of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, Lamontagne says earth scientists are often asked to comment about seismic events happening on the other side of the world, which can get them into trouble if they're not careful.

In the paper, Lamontagne and Goulet cite such an example involving a foreign geologist who made comments on a major 2011 earthquake in New Zealand.

"What you say locally is communicated worldwide," Lamontagne said.

But it's not just their own credibility scientists should be worried about, Lamontage says; they can combine scientific knowledge with empathy to provide not just information but emotional relief to people who have experienced trauma.

Lamontagne first realized this in 1988 after an earthquake in the Saguenay region of Quebec, where he found himself attending post-earthquake meetings in person.

"After that I realized that, yes, we can talk about scientific aspects, but we can adapt our messages to be of greater use to the people," he said.

Focus on the positives

In practical terms, Lamontange says this means verbally acknowledging the trauma of people who have experienced the earthquake in question, and reminding them of resources like counselling.

In the paper, Lamontange and Goulet cite research on communicating with people under high stress.

For example, people under high stress tend to remember less of what they are told, and tend to focus more on negative messages than positive ones. They recommend bearing this in mind when commenting publicly on major earthquakes.

"Our credibility will not be based only on the number of diplomas we have," Lamontagne said. "It will be dependent on how we can relate to how people are feeling."

With files from CBC Radio One's On the Island.