‘We all have a point of view,’ says Venette, expert in health communication

By Rakiyah Lenon | Co-editor in chief

Augusta University’s Department of Communication hosted Steven Venette, a professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, to discuss health communication during a crisis on Thursday, March 3.

Venette is an expert in risk and crisis communication, organizational communication and public relations. He has worked for various public and private organizations including the USDA, CDC and DHS.

In the presentation entitled “Communication Complexities In the time of Covid,” Venette discussed challenges that arose when it came to speaking about the situation in the JSAC Coffeehouse.

“COVID has really changed the way we evaluate the success or failure of communication campaigns,” said Venette.

In his talk, Venette mentioned that earlier viewpoints had suggested that communication campaigns were only effective if they resulted in compliance. However, Venette said that this is being viewed in a different way now.

“There’s no such thing as a perfect message,” he said. “It can be complicated.”

Venette stressed the importance of acknowledging differences in thought amongst others.

 “Seeing people as legitimate– it doesn’t mean that they are a bad person,” he said. “We can have different points of view. We can see the world in different ways but still appreciate that.”

According to Venette, social media has become commonplace for people to share whatever they have to say.

“People are more willing to share their point of view through social media,” he said. “It’s a comfortable environment.”

Venette said that in recent times when people have resorted to using labels to describe others or themselves, it often does damage when acknowledging the legitimacy of the thoughts and concerns of others.

“Labelling people can be counter-productive,” he said. “It’s never very effective. Not a good strategy.”

He mentioned that disagreements amongst people is inevitable, it is important to be understanding.

“Practicing compassion is very important as well,” Venette said. “You have to consider the other person’s point of view so you can know where they are coming from.”

According to Venette, people should find it important to remember that everyone has biases.

“We all have a point of view,” he said. “People have the right to make up their own mind.”

During his visit, Venette appeared as a guest speaker for some classes.

Carrie Reif-Stice, an assistant professor in communications and expert in health and crisis communication, organized the event.

According to Reif-Stice, she wanted Venette to speak to share his experience with others in AU.

Steven Venette (left) and Carrie Reif-Stice (right) met with students after the discussion. At top of page, Venette discusses a quote from H. L. Mencken. (photos by Rakiyah Lenon)

Contact Rakiyah Lenon at rlenon@augusta.edu.