Role-Playing for disaster awareness: Insights from reversing the roles of risk communicators and recipients

Abstract This study aims to explore the insights gained from role-playing exercises designed to improve disaster awareness activities. In these workshops, disaster risk communicators—including disaster experts and managers—assume the roles of information recipients (e.g., members of the public). Specifically, staff from three types of organizations—central government, local government, and a private company—participated in the role-playing exercises. Participants reflected on their own implementation of the disaster prevention content their organizations provide to the public; considered the challenges they would face if they attempted to implement it themselves; and discussed what conditions would need to be in place for them to feel motivated to act. The findings suggest that this approach can help communicators better understand the perspectives of those receiving disaster risk information. By stepping into the public's shoes, experts can recognize practical barriers to action that may otherwise be overlooked in their professional roles. This process can help identify gaps in existing outreach strategies and inspire new ideas for more effective disaster awareness and risk communication. Furthermore, it has the potential to lead to disaster awareness-raising activities that are more closely aligned with the public’s perspective than ever before.