Marcie is at the pool and her little boy has struck his head on the diving board and is injured. ...

a . What she should do
i. Pick a face out of the crowd (perhaps a lifeguard not involved in the rescue) and stare at that person, making eye contact.
ii. Point directly at that person and say, You, I need help for my son. He needs an ambulance. Call 9-1-1 now..
b. Why she should do it--because this overcomes all the barriers to helping noted in the five-step model.
i. This insures that the person will notice her (reducing distraction).
ii. It clarifies that Marcie really needs help (overcomes pluralistic ignorance).
iii. It helps clarify that the particular individual Marcie speaks to is responsible for helping (overcomes diffusion of responsibility)
iv. The person will now know exactly what to do (reduces lack of concerns about competence.
v. The person identified should not be inhibited by the audience (reduces audience inhibition).