TRAINING
Instructor’s Words: When Miscommunication Can Impact Dive Training and Safety – by Al Hornsby, owner, Al Hornsby Productions, Singapore Al is regarded as one of the industry’s most experienced risk management litigation executives.
In our roles as instructors, dive mas- ters, and dive guides, we can hold rather exalted positions among the divers and students in our care. Especially when learning to dive, students typically re- gard us with respect and even a degree of awe, realizing that we know a great deal and are very expert in an enviable activity that carries elements of risk. The upside of this natural situation is that students and
ing awareness of how our students or the divers in our care may be hearing, and perhaps misunderstanding, our actual intent. I would think that most of us, at one time or another, have experienced instruction or direction-giving that lost effec- tiveness because the speaker went on for too long, with too much information (or not enough) being given, or diluted a serious safety issue through misplaced use of humor or even well-intended repetition. In this regard, I recently became aware of just how simple and significant this could be.
newer divers tend to pay close at- tention to the instructions given when learning to dive, but also when being briefed for diving, es- pecially in locations or involving techniques that may be new to them. However, there is also responsi-
In correspondence from the fa- ther of a child involved in an open water diver training course, he was concerned that the students were being taught that they “always, al- ways should complete a safety stop before surfacing from a dive.” From this emphasis and lack of condition-
bility inherent within these circumstances, which, if care is not taken, can create misunderstandings or outcomes that were not the ones the pro intended. It’s for these reasons that instruction and dive supervision need both expertise and awareness when instructional topics and/or dive planning are being presented. While our students and dive customers may enjoy humor or exceedingly detailed commentary, when being provided course information and dive plans we must be aware that in providing such information we must also remain effective communicators and teachers… this is why instruction and dive plans work best when they are succinct, to-the-point and unambiguous. Education in providing instruction and directions – espe- cially when there may be downside risks when something may be misunderstood – tends to be cautionary about saying too much or carelessly over-emphasizing, without maintain-
ality (i.e. “always”), the father, not a diver himself, based upon his child’s misunderstanding, interpreted it to mean that no matter what the situation – even with a malady or being low on air - the safety stop must be taken and completed before ascending. In this case, the “always, always” was taken literally by a good student who was trying his best to pay attention and follow the instructions being given. For the instructor, the emphasis on doing safety stops was certainly positive, but the “always” overstatement and lack of clarity – such as in- cluding a caveat like “except when low on air, injured, etc.” -
created a significant misunderstanding, which if followed, could potentially lead to an accident. At best, the situation created confusion and concerns about the course standards and the va- lidity of the training.
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