Life and death communications are not part of our daily experience.  Most of what say and do each day does not have the potential to severely impact the lives and property of people.  In an emergency (weather or otherwise), any given message can have huge and often unintended consequences.  An unclear or thoughtless message can have unfortunate results.

• Listening -- is 50% of communicating

• Brevity & Clarity - keep transmissions as concise as possible without losing clarity. Extraneous information can distract the recipient and lead to misinterpretation and/or confusion.

• Speak slowly and deliberately

• Plain Language -- Do not use (or allow) jargon or slang.  There is no such thing as "common spelling."  Also, send all numbers as individual numbers

• Use standard phonetics;  To reduce requests to repeat words anytime a word has an unusual of difficult spelling

• Have your radio manual readily available

• Improve your mike technique -- articulate do not slur, Speak close to the mic but talk across it, not into it.  Adjust mic gain to allow close-talking without over-modulation or distortion.  VOX is not recommended because its too easy for background noise and "off-air"comments to be transmitted

• Do not be afraid to ask for assistance if you need it

• You will make mistakes-acknowledging them will (hopefully) earn you respect and support

• NEVER think out loud.  If you need a moment to consider what to say next, say "standby" and un-key.

• Transmit only the facts -- if you have a need for an educated guess or speculation, make that fact clear

Habits to Avoid

• Thinking aloud on the air

• On-air arguments

• Rambling commentaries

• Speaking rapidly

• "Cute" Phonetics

• Speaking without planning your message in advance

• Talking just to pass the time

NOAA's
National WeatherService
Chicago Forecast Office
Amateur Radio Page