Public communication about radiation is tricky business. Members of the public are frequently skeptical about messages from scientific sources, particularly when it comes to radiation. As radiation protection professionals, it is our job to relay scientifically sound information in a simple, clear, and concise manner. This paper discusses the Health Physics Society's "Ask The Experts" feature, the society's most successful public education endeavor with over one million visitors annually. The keys to effective communication of technical information are demonstrating empathy and compassion, keeping the language simple and concise, and offering sources of additional information to empower the individual to learn more on their own. The two most common categories of questions-radiation exposures from diagnostic imaging procedures and radiation exposures to the fetus-are discussed in detail, and some general information on how to respond to these types of questions is provided. A template for responding to public questions is provided, along with some examples.

中文翻译：

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辐射和持怀疑态度的公众：有效沟通的技巧和工具。

关于辐射的公共传播是一件棘手的事情。公众经常对来自科学来源的信息持怀疑态度，尤其是在辐射方面。作为辐射防护专业人士，我们的工作是以简单、清晰和简洁的方式传递科学可靠的信息。本文讨论了健康物理学会的“询问专家”专题，这是该学会最成功的公共教育活动，每年有超过一百万的访问者。有效交流技术信息的关键是表现出同理心和同情心，保持语言简洁明了，并提供额外信息来源以使个人能够自主学习更多信息。详细讨论了两类最常见的问题——诊断成像程序的辐射暴露和胎儿的辐射暴露——并提供了有关如何回答这些类型问题的一些一般信息。提供了一个用于回答公共问题的模板，以及一些示例。