1. Persuading lay audience to change behaviour2. Writing an effective synthesis3. Adapting language to the lay audience

REVISION

SP1203 Session 8

Persuading the lay audience to Persuading the lay audience to Persuading the lay audience to Persuading the lay audience to

change behavior change behavior change behavior change behavior

Objective of health promotion:Persuade people to adopt healthy behaviorStrategies of persuasion:- Argument- Fear appeals- Message framing

Fear AppealsTwo parts:1. the threat- severity - personal susceptibility (the reader assesses whether the threat is a danger to him)2. the recommended action to protect against the threat - Response-efficacy (action is seen as effective against the threat) - Self-efficacy (action is personally achievable)

Threat appraisal

Coping appraisal

Techniques that work� Affirming techniques

� Ask the target audience to reflect on the personal values or attributes that they are most proud of and to align that to healthy behavior. � People may respond positively to fear appeals after self-affirming because they wish to protect their self-image.

Techniques that work

� Emphasize response-efficacy or self-efficacy�Can be boosted by recommending specificactions or steps that people can take or by emphasizing the previous success rate of the recommended action. �One method is showing people that a target audience they identify with have adopted the recommended action. �Another is recommending actions that incrementally lead to more complex action, egHPB’s I Quit Facebook page.

Message Framing

� matching the wording of a message to the perceptions and viewpoint of the target audience� There are two frames: - gaingaingaingain----frameframeframeframe: emphasize the advantages or potential gains viewers will receive if they perform the recommended action, e.g. “If you quit smoking, you reduce the risk of getting cancer.”

- losslosslossloss----frameframeframeframe: emphasize the disadvantages or potential losses of not performing the recommended action, e.g. “If you smoke, you increase the risk of getting cancer.”

Theoretically,For prevention behaviors (exercise, using sunscreen, using condoms, etc) � gain frameFor detection behaviors (health screening, breast self-examination, etc) � loss-frame

SynthesisSP1203

Foundation in Effective Communication

What is a synthesis?Means putting together different elements into a harmonious whole- Summarise information from various sources- Show how they are related- Evaluate their significanceSimple tip:

“Select and connect”

How to write a synthesis1. Read source texts carefully and annotate.� Main idea of each section� Key supporting information for each main point� Author’s conclusions 2. Graphically organize the points of all texts. Use your own words to avoid plagiarism later. 3. Use the graphic to see the relationship between the texts. � Where do they overlap? What are the key differences? � Does one refute the other? Does one elaborate the other? � This relationship must be made explicit in the synthesis.5. Use numbers or arrows on your graphic organizer to note the order you will present the points.6. Write your synthesis.

Sample synthesisStep 6: Write the synthesis

Communicating Science to a Lay Communicating Science to a Lay Communicating Science to a Lay Communicating Science to a Lay

AudienceAudienceAudienceAudience

SP1203 Session 9

Knowing Your Audience

� Interest level� Cultural differences� How they view the world and life� Controversy in science-based research� Subjectivity� Personal bias – confirmation and selective

leads people to interpret messages as confirming what they believe

leads people to obtain information from sources they agree with

Presentation of Content� Key message should be short, action-oriented and focused on behavior change.� People want to know how to use the information they receive to make decisions.� Article should communicate 2 essential objectives:

� The need for a decision now� The need to take the first step

Elaborating the main message

� Use science to support arguments for behavior change� Answer 4 basic questions:1. What was found/discovered?2. Why did it happen?3. What does it mean?

4. What needs to be done about it?

description

explanation

Interpretation: hypothesis,

correlations, causal

relationships

ACTION

Comprehensible supporting details- building a credible argumentSeveral ways:1.1.1.1. Keep the context local and relevantKeep the context local and relevantKeep the context local and relevantKeep the context local and relevantAddress the readers’ needs and anticipate possible objections. 2.2.2.2. Interpret numerical data Interpret numerical data Interpret numerical data Interpret numerical data where possible

� ‘so what?’� Use similes, eg ‘the number of smoking-related deaths each YEAR is equivalent to two jumbo jets crashing EVERY DAY with no survivors’

Increasing comprehensibility with

visuals3. Use visualsvisualsvisualsvisuals when necessary for illustration- giving instructionsinstructionsinstructionsinstructions- presenting data in graphsgraphsgraphsgraphs and chartschartschartscharts- describing stepsstepsstepssteps in a process

Icon array Pie chart

Line graph Flow chart

Increasing comprehensibility with

visuals

4. Use clear organisation and format

� Use headings appropriately

� Use bold, italics, colors for emphasis

� Use callouts or sidebars when necessary

� Use white space sensibly

*Check marking criteria.

Language� Reading level: Primary 5-Secondary 2� SMOG readability scale: 5-8To increase readability:� Shorten sentences Shorten sentences Shorten sentences Shorten sentences <15 words, <2 clauses� Use active voice active voice active voice active voice >90% of sentences� Reduce use of polysyllabic words <4 syllables� Simplify vocabularySimplify vocabularySimplify vocabularySimplify vocabulary� OrganisationOrganisationOrganisationOrganisation – topic sentences, transitions, cohesive devices

LanguageOther features of language use:� appropriate tone tone tone tone and formality and formality and formality and formality (using personal pronouns) � use hedginghedginghedginghedging to express possibility or uncertaintye.g. can, may, might, suggest, possible, indicate

Your article should have instances of the following:1. topic sentence2. transitions3. cohesive devices4. language conveying suitable tone5. hedging to express possibility