Science Communication Course: Part III | What am I Communicating: The Core Message

The Core Message
Regardless of whether you want to communicate through text, pictures, video, or audio, you should always convey a clearly recognizable core message. The core message includes the essence of your entire communication, the thing that should make a lasting impression on your target audience. That is why a core message should never be too general or random, but also not include too many details. It should be as concrete as possible and be able to stand alone. But be careful! A core message is not a slogan, but a real message. In the case of the core message, you must not lose sight of the target audience or the goal. The core message can change for the very same topic should the target audience or goal change. The language used for the core message must be clear and should not include technical terms. It should not be longer than three or four short sentences. If at all possible,
each sentence should only include one piece of information.
TIP:
Begin working on your core message by narrowing down your topic and concentrating on the aspects of it that will be important and interesting for your target audience. This can be a painful process that is even referred to in journalism as “killing your darlings.” The following questions can help you find your core message:
• What are the problems/questions that your research deals with?
• Why are these problems/questions important/interesting for your target audience?
• What appears to be the solution to the problem/answer to your research question?
• What is new/special/surprising about your research?
But be careful: The answers to these questions cannot be directly translated into a core message. These questions are just the ladder you need to climb on in order to get to your core message.
TASK:
1. Choose journalists as your target audience and answer the core message questions for your topic.
2. Use these answers to create your core message. It shouldn’t be more than 3-4 sentences and have no more than 280 characters.
3. Repeat the process for another target audience of your choice.
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Design and Implementation; Kristin Raabe. This initiative falls under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme, grant agreement No. 101035801. Please contact UNIC if you're interested in further usage or implementation of this programme.