Foundational Skills for Communicating About Health

Foundational Skills for Communicating About Health

Instructor: Brian Zikmund-Fisher

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24,251 already enrolled

5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

129 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

2 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

96%

Most learners liked this course

5 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

129 reviews

Beginner level

No prior experience required

Flexible schedule

2 weeks at 10 hours a week

Learn at your own pace

96%

Most learners liked this course

What you'll learn

Define and collect important information about a target audience in order to make appropriate decisions about the communication effort
Select an audience-appropriate communications goal
Craft a clear, concise core message for a communication effort
Deploy at least two different types of narrative structures to support communications about health topics

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

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Assessments

22 assignments¹

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Taught in English

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There are 5 modules in this course

Effective communication is a core skill that nearly every health professional will need and use during their careers. Yet, few health professionals receive even basic training in how to design communications to be clear and successful. As “foundational skills,” the content in this course can be applied to both oral and written communication, within and beyond health.

Learners will develop the skills to: analyze and tailor a communication effort for different audiences, develop clear messages, create logical and compelling stories, understand and apply important considerations with language as well as nonverbal communication. This course is valuable and appropriate for both beginning and experienced health professionals who need to communicate effectively with other professionals, patients, policymakers, or the broader public.. Content is relevant to public health professionals, clinicians of all types (medical, nursing, dentists, social work, etc.), health advocates, and scientists and researchers in any health domain..

In Week 1, we will consider how knowing your audience and your specific goals are the critical first steps to designing effective communications.

What's included

8 videos4 readings5 assignments1 discussion prompt

8 videos Total 51 minutes

Fundamental Concepts 3 minutes
What can go wrong? 7 minutes
Audience and Goals 11 minutes
Creating an Audience-Goal Worksheet 7 minutes
Audience-Goals Example: Community Brochure 5 minutes
Audience-Goals Example: Scientific Conference 6 minutes
Audience-Goals Example: Advocacy Brief 5 minutes
Audience-Goals Example: This Course Segment 5 minutes

4 readings Total 17 minutes

Faculty Introduction and Acknowledgements 1 minute
Course Syllabus 10 minutes
Help Us Learn More About You! 5 minutes
Note about videos 1 minute

5 assignments Total 60 minutes

Introductory Story of Science exercise 20 minutes
Audience / Goals Practice: Public Meeting 10 minutes
Audience / Goals Practice: Genetic Test Report 10 minutes
Audience / Goals Practice: Annual Clinic Report 10 minutes
Audience / Goals Practice: Airport Poster 10 minutes

1 discussion prompt Total 10 minutes

Example of a Health Communication Gone Wrong 10 minutes

In Week 2, we will focus on developing clear takeaway messages so that communications can achieve their objectives.

What's included

6 videos2 readings8 assignments1 plugin

6 videos Total 40 minutes

The Importance of Message Prioritization 7 minutes
What makes a good Central Message? 7 minutes
Idea Space 4 minutes
Inverted Triangle 7 minutes
Inverted Triangle Examples 11 minutes
Inverted Triangle Useful Structure 4 minutes

2 readings Total 11 minutes

Half-Life Your Message Activity Instructions 10 minutes
A Note About The Next Set Of Items 1 minute

8 assignments Total 90 minutes

Half-Life Your Message Reflection 15 minutes
Evaluate summary using rubric (2) 10 minutes
Create a Central Message 30 minutes
How many points in a paragraph (1) 5 minutes
How many points in a paragraph (2) 5 minutes
How many points in a paragraph (3) 5 minutes
Critique / rewrite paragraphs 10 minutes
Evaluate summary using rubric (1) 10 minutes

1 plugin Total 13 minutes

VIDEO Half-Life Your Message 13 minutes

This week, we focus on using plain language to avoid jargon, and continue to practice finding a clear central message.

What's included

4 videos2 assignments1 peer review

In Week 4, we will learn how to use narrative forms to tell the story of science and how to think about the larger macro-structures of messages, especially when your message is designed to advocate for your central point.

What's included

13 videos3 readings2 assignments1 peer review

13 videos Total 56 minutes

Power of Stories 5 minutes
The Link Between Messaging and Narrative 4 minutes
Health Sciences & Management Can be Stories 5 minutes
ABT (And, But, Therefore) 7 minutes
ABT in Science Stories 6 minutes
Other Examples of ABT 4 minutes
ABT X 2 5 minutes
The Findings ABT 2 minutes
Post-Interview debrief Dr. Skip Lupia 4 minutes
One-pager Briefs 5 minutes
Advocacy Examples: Inverted Triangles + ABT 3 minutes
Advocacy Example: Repeated Inverted Triangle 5 minutes
Macro- vs. Micro-Message Structures 2 minutes

3 readings Total 30 minutes

External Video (10 min): Communicating to Policymakers 10 minutes
Letter to EPA: CPP Replacement 10 minutes
Letter to EPA: Toxic Substance Control Act 10 minutes

2 assignments Total 65 minutes

Evaluate ABT x 2 examples 20 minutes
Create ABT x 2 from provided research paper 45 minutes

1 peer review Total 60 minutes

Create ABTx2 from provided research paper for peer review 60 minutes

In Week 5, we will learn oral presentation skills, create a final written assignment summarizing a scientific article for a different audience, and (optionally) create a short video presentation for a public audience.

What's included

2 videos6 readings5 assignments1 peer review

2 videos Total 18 minutes

Vocal Tones and Nonverbals 10 minutes
Giving Constructive Feedback 7 minutes

6 readings Total 39 minutes

Vocal Tone Handout 3 minutes
Resources and Hand-Outs 10 minutes
Course Feedback 10 minutes
Congratulations! Course Complete 5 minutes
Citation correction 1 minute
Keep Learning with Michigan Online! 10 minutes

5 assignments Total 75 minutes

Video Analysis - Step 1 10 minutes
Video Analysis - Step 2 10 minutes
Video Analysis - Step 3 10 minutes
Rubric Training Video Presentation Evaluation 15 minutes
Rubric Training: Written Report Evaluation 30 minutes

1 peer review Total 120 minutes

Advocacy 1-Pager Final Assignment 120 minutes

Instructor

Instructor ratings

(46 ratings)

Brian Zikmund-Fisher

University of Michigan

3 Courses 24,334 learners

Offered by

University of Michigan

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Reviewed on Feb 5, 2023

Excellent course and excellent instructor. What I learned in this class will remain with me and will be considered every time I write anything!

Reviewed on Apr 5, 2020

Dr Brian is an excellent teacher with precise and discrete ideas amalgamated together so well to get an overall core of the communication skills was way too easier and clear. Thank you so much.

Reviewed on Jun 23, 2021

Very well executed... Core message, inverted triangle model, ABT. ...Thank You very much Dr.Brian

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