Abstract
A public involvement (PI) process recently introduced into road planning and various infrastructure planning processes requires that public agency re presentative communicate with the public about planning information. Although many public and open house meetings are led by trained consultants and facilitators, public agency representative also frequently have the opportunity to communicate directly with citizens at such events. However, du e to a lack of communication traini ng, they may not be able to communicate ideas clearly to citizens. In this study, the authors analyzed the nature of public agency representative responses to citizen questions typically asked at a public meeting. As a result of this study, "good manner" was judged to be the most influen tial factor for a good evaluation by citizens and the presence or absence of the "technical terms" was judged to be the second most influential factor for citizens behind "good manner".Thus, public agency representative should convey information to citizens in a "good manner" and without using "technical terms" as described herein so as to discuss issues clearly. The findings of this study will promote better communication with citizens engaged in PI.
