My 50+ years of experience in media and public information gives me a unique perspective of what has been successful in the past and what will be successful in the future. I'm a life-long learner, having started with film and transitioned to video and live-streamed events. As I teach in the FEMA PIO classes, it's all about getting the RIGHT information to the RIGHT people at the RIGHT time so they can make the RIGHT decisions.The ways to communicate have changed greatly, as have the ways the public wants to receive information. Messaging is further complicated by the need to validate the information and then decide exactly how urgent the next actions are. Recent emergency events show that unclear messages are ineffective and can lead to pubic distrust, inaction and injury - even death.Through effective communication in a timely manner, the goal is to educate and inform the public about risks and emergency situations as they arise. We then provide the necessary information to resolve the threat and get things back to normal as quickly as possible. All of this while providing clear, concise, actionable and trustworthy messages to internal and external audiences.