During a crisis or a hostage situation, negotiators must communicate with criminals and disturbed or irrational individuals, while relaying the on-scene commander's directives to the crisis site. Situation or incident boards are one way to assist negotiators in their important job of collecting, recording and collating information. Large sheets of paper, each one dedicated to one category of information, are affixed to the wall near or in sight of the primary negotiator and the coach. These boards give both individuals immediate access to crucial information regarding the incident and provide other crisis management team members a commanding view of information as it is processed. These boards do not eliminate the need for a negotiations log, but are an immediate information retrieval device and permit new team members arriving on the scene to be updated on developments without disturbing other team members.