Trinity of Voice

Overview: According to Senecah, the following three elements of voice must be present in order to build and maintain trust among agencies and stakeholders, supporting an open and responsive decision-making process. They all represent different aspects to communication yet work hand-in-hand with each other and, in relation to the Trinity of Voice, one cannot work effectively without the others.

Access: The element of giving participants sufficient and fair opportunities to express their opinions/concerns

Standing: "Civic legitimacy, the respect, the esteem, and the consideration that all stakeholders' perspectives should be given"

Influence: Openly and thoughtfully weigh stakeholders' concerns, ideas, and wishes before making the decision

Example: When organizing a public hearing on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, the agency has to first consider the accessibility of the attendees. If any part of the hearing is inaccessible, they are unable to move forward to the standing aspects presented. This references the verbal and nonverbal parts that are reviewed prior to the hearing. The last part is influence, where the agency determines if there are any clear biases in the courtroom. If there are present concerns of fairness, they discuss how to go about making the situation unfavorable to either party