Blue Sky Work: The Communications Foundation Every Disaster Tests

Silence is never neutral. When official information lags during an emergency, something rushes in to fill the void, and it is rarely anything an agency would have chosen.In this DisasterSmiths episode, our guests, Nancy Leuenhagen, Communications Director for Washoe County, Nevada, and Stephanie Tennyson, Chief Communications Director at IEM, make the case that the most consequential communications work happens on blue sky days. Blue sky time is construction time, when relationships get built, andagencies earn the right to be believed. Together with our hosts, they explore how agencies build credibility before an emergency ever occurs, why consistent communication matters when there is no immediate threat, and how to makepreparedness resonate with people who assume disaster will never reach them.They also examine common pitfalls in preparedness messaging, the challenge of competing voices, and practical ways to adapt when misinformation spreads faster than facts.Whether you lead a communications shop or wear every hat in a one-person office, you will come away with ideas for building credibility, countering misinformation, and reaching the people who need your message most.