Here’s a bit of good news I gleaned from the America’s Civic Health Index 2009 report that I’ve been blogging about all week — the public continues to express more faith in the scientific community than it does in other institutions. Not only that, this faith has held steady while the credibility of big companies, banks, and the executive branch has gone off the cliff (no surprise there, really):

Environmental Communications: Trust is a Must
Here’s why that matters. When everyday citizens fail to respond to an argument that we believe is grounded in science, we tend to believe that the public didn’t believe us. We seldom realize that maybe they just didn’t understand us. This survey finds that public trust in scientific messengers is actually pretty high — and has been that way for years.

So if you’re not getting what you want with your public communications, focus some attention on making your message clear, compelling, and confidence-inspiring. Try the Water Words That Work message method. That just might be the breakthrough you want.