I was drone flying a couple weeks ago when a police car drove up next to me. The officer cautiously got out of his car and walked up to me with the question "What are you doing?". At that point, I went into my standard Public Ambassador, "friendly" mode.
"I'm taking scenic videos of the town for publication on YouTube. Come look over my shoulder at the monitor!".
At that point, the frown on the officer's face melted away, as he became interested in the images on the screen. -Then the questions about drones, followed by an explanation of what I was doing and why. He asked the standard "How much do they cost", and "Are they hard to fly" questions. As I finished my shoot and brought the drone back for a landing, I pattered on about the controls and the sport itself. When we were close, I even let him press the return-to-home auto-land button. That did it! He was a convert.
After landing, we talked about the legality and safety features of the sport. I explained about part 107, and the steps that the FAA is taking to regulate and keep everything safe. When he left, he thanked me for allowing him to fly. In my mind though, I'd made another convert. The encounter could've gone quite differently.
So how do we handle ourselves with the public? How do we address common fears about the unknown? How do we handle the occasional nutcase?
1. I have predetermined responses to the standard questions, like the one mentioned earlier about photography. When asked if I'm filming, my standard answer is yes, but with a panoramic, wide-angle lens. I then follow-up with "Have you ever looked through binoculars from the other end?". "You'll see things like you're a mile away. -That's what a panoramic lens does.". "That way I don't have to climb a mile high to get a scene.". "The downside is that I can't make out individual people.". That seems to quell any invasion of privacy concerns. I then (-may) invite the individual to look over my shoulder. -Involvement seems to disarm people most of the time.
2. If I DO get a nutcase (-Haven't had a real bad one yet) who doesn't respond to "ambassador tactics", I'll ask his permission to first land the drone so that I can give him my full attention. "-It's a safety issue", I'll say. Once on the ground, I'll listen to him (-or her) and try to ferret out the REAL concern. I try not to get confrontational, and always stay relaxed. -Same with my body language.
Restating the concern helps to put things into a solvable question. -The old Columbo approach.
"So help me understand you a little better. You're concerned that I may be photographing you and invading your privacy, is that it?". Then I'll address his concern. "I've just taken a beautiful picture of this entire bridge, but the people walking on it will look like ants if I can make them out at all.". "If I wanted to take a recognizable picture, I'd have to hover in your face at nose level, and that would bother both of us!". "Give me your email address and I'll send you a link to the footage.". "If you find something that bothers you, let me know and I'll either blur or delete it. Is that fair?".
So far, these tactics have worked, and the majority of the time I've made a friend.
Now, what are some of the tactics that YOU guys use?
