REVISION

1.

Persuading lay audience to change behaviour

2. Writing an effective synthesis
3. Adapting language to the lay audience

Persuading the lay audience to

change behavior

SP1203 Session 8

Objective of health promotion:

Persuade people to adopt healthy behavior
Strategies of persuasion:
- Argument
- Fear appeals
- Message framing

Fear Appeals
Two parts:
1. the threat
Threat appraisal
- 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)
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 specific
actions 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, eg
HPBs 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:

- gaingain-frame: 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.
- lossloss-frame: 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 frame
For detection behaviors (health screening, breast
self-examination, etc)
 loss-frame

SP1203
Foundation in Effective Communication

Synthesis

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 significance

Simple tip:

Select and connect

How to write a synthesis

1.

2.
3.

5.
6.

Read source texts carefully and annotate.

Main idea of each section

Key supporting information for each main point

Authors conclusions
Graphically organize the points of all texts. Use your own words
to avoid plagiarism later.
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.
Use numbers or arrows on your graphic organizer to note the
order you will present the points.
Write your synthesis.

Sample synthesis
Step 6: Write the synthesis

Communicating Science to a Lay

Audience
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?

description
explanation

Interpretation: hypothesis,
correlations, causal
relationships

4. What needs to be done about it?

ACTION

Comprehensible supporting details

- building a credible argument
Several ways:
1.

2.

Keep the context local and relevant

Address the readers needs and anticipate

possible objections.

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

visuals
3.

Use visuals when necessary for illustration

- giving instructions
- presenting data in graphs and charts
- describing steps in a process

Icon array

Line graph

Pie chart

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: 5-8

To increase readability:

Shorten sentences <15 words, <2 clauses

Use active voice >90% of sentences

Reduce use of polysyllabic words <4 syllables

Simplify vocabulary
Organisation topic sentences, transitions,

cohesive devices

Language
Other features of language use:

appropriate tone and formality (using personal
pronouns)

use hedging to express possibility or
uncertainty
e.g. can, may, might, suggest, possible,

indicate

Your article should have instances of the

following:
1. topic sentence
2. transitions
3. cohesive devices
4. language conveying suitable tone
5. hedging to express possibility