Keep communications to the point. This is essential during high pressure situations. Incorrect information can overload the receiver and the meaning can be lost; information should only be exchanged with relevant individuals.

Communications should be made at an appropriate point in time. To avoid distractions from critical tasks consider how urgent the information is and the current task demands of the receiver.

This prevents misunderstanding and differences in shared situation awareness.

Both senders and receivers of information may have assumptions about the information. Incident commanders should question and clear up assumptions. This will help to make sure what they say is what the other person hears and understands.

There is a clear benefit to being assertive to clarify meaning and test assumptions. Both confidence and status can affect the ability to be assertive under pressure. It is important for an incident commander to be able to distinguish between being passive, assertive and aggressive. If an incident commander is passive, they may fail to represent their views effectively so that others take note of them. Where an incident commander is aggressive, they can ignore the views of others, be defensive and act in a superior manner. However, an assertive incident commander will respect the views of others and remain objective. Features of assertiveness are asking questions to acquire information, and advocating a particular point of view.

The environment at an incident can make it more difficult to communicate. Noise, adverse weather conditions and heightened levels of activity can be distracting and make listening difficult. It is important to concentrate on content rather than delivery as pre-conceptions about the status of the person who is communicating may also affect listening. Incident commanders should not interrupt or complete the sentences of the other person. They should be supportive and patient with them. To listen actively, an incident commander should adopt positive body language, make eye contact, ask questions and paraphrase.

People are constantly communicating, even when not using words. When verbal and non-verbal messages match, it helps people to make sense of the message. For example, a calm approach reinforces a reassuring message.