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Riots in London - wow, what a mess

If you haven't heard London just had a riot over the police killing someoen during an arrest attempt.

The video, which is just starting to pop up on YouTube, makes the Vancouver riots look peaceful.








I was impressed with the police spokesman, his response was perfect. Calm tone of voice, was very clear in what he was asking from the public (to stay calm), reassured that they are equipped to handle things, and expressed regret that such an event was taking place.

In response to a crisis like this the 'message' is less important than the 'tone'. People react to your tone. If you have a dissmisive tone (we'll get this under control, nothing to see here, move along), it adds to the drama. If you have an authoritative tone (this is unacceptable and we will stop this immediately and make those behind this pay), it adds to the drama. If you have a judgemental tone (this is the actions of a group of hooligans and we will deal with them as hooligans), it adds to the drama.

If you have a calm, reassuring tone however, as the officer had, it calms and reassures people.

It's quite difficult to be calm and reassuring in the midst of a crisis - people tend to either get very nervous or over compensate and get very rigid - which is why good spokespersons are hard to find.

Kudos to the police office for striking a perfect tone in response to the riot. 

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