Associate Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education
Foundational Skills for Communicating About Health
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
5 Modules
15 Hours
3 hrs per module (approx.)
Rating
About Foundational Skills for Communicating About Health
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.
Skills You'll Gain
- Critical Thinking
- Health Education
- Patient Communication
- Public Speaking Preparation
- Storytelling
What You'll Earn
- Certificate of Completion:
- Certificates of completion acknowledge knowledge acquired upon completion of a non-credit course or program.
Welcome Message
Welcome to Foundational Skills for Communicating About Health, an online course focused on building essential communication skills for health contexts. You will learn how to analyze audiences, craft clear messages, and tell compelling stories using language and nonverbal cues. Designed for both new and experienced health professionals, this course supports effective communication with patients, professionals, policymakers, and the public.
This abbreviated syllabus description was created with the help of AI tools and reviewed by staff. The full syllabus is available to those who enroll in the course.
Course Schedule
Module 1: Communication Overview
- Reading: Faculty Introduction and Acknowledgements
- Reading: Course Syllabus
- Reading: Help Us Learn More About You!
- Reading: Note about videos
- Video: Fundamental Concepts
- Graded Assignment: Introductory Story of Science exercise
- Video: What can go wrong?
- Discussion Prompt: Example of a Health Communication Gone Wrong
- Video: Audience and Goals
- Video: Creating an Audience-Goal Worksheet
- Video: Audience-Goals Example: Community Brochure
- Video: Audience-Goals Example: Scientific Conference
- Video: Audience-Goals Example: Advocacy Brief
- Video: Audience-Goals Example: This Course Segment
- Graded Assignment: Audience / Goals Practice: Public Meeting
- Graded Assignment: Audience / Goals Practice: Genetic Test Report
- Graded Assignment: Audience / Goals Practice: Annual Clinic Report
- Graded Assignment: Audience / Goals Practice: Airport Poster
Module 2: Core Message Development
- Video: The Importance of Message Prioritization
- Video: What makes a good Central Message?
- Video: Idea Space
- Ungraded Plugin: VIDEO Half-Life Your Message
- Reading: Half-Life Your Message Activity Instructions
- Graded Assignment: Create a Central Message
- Video: Inverted Triangle
- Video: Inverted Triangle Examples
- Reading: A Note About The Next Set Of Items
- Graded Assignment: How many points in a paragraph (1)
- Graded Assignment: How many points in a paragraph (2)
- Graded Assignment: How many points in a paragraph (3)
- Graded Assignment: Critique / rewrite paragraphs
- Video: Inverted Triangle Useful Structure
- Graded Assignment: Evaluate summary using rubric (1)
Module 3: Clear Language
- Video: Central Messages in Data Graphics
- Video: Active vs. Passive Voice
- Graded Assignment: Passive voice to active voice
- Video: Tools and Sites for Plain Language
- Graded Assignment: Replacing jargon in sentences
- Video: Dejargonizer video
Module 4: Narrative and Advocacy
- Video: Power of Stories
- Video: The Link Between Messaging and Narrative
- Video: Health Sciences & Management Can be Stories
- Video: ABT (And, But, Therefore)
- Video: ABT in Science Stories
- Video: Other Examples of ABT
- Video: ABT X 2
- Video: The Findings ABT
- Reading: External Video (10 min): Communicating to Policymakers
- Video: Post-Interview debrief Dr. Skip Lupia
- Video: One-pager Briefs
- Reading: Letter to EPA: CPP Replacement
- Video: Advocacy Examples: Inverted Triangles + ABT
- Reading: Letter to EPA: Toxic Substance Control Act
- Video: Advocacy Example: Repeated Inverted Triangle
- Video: Macro- vs. Micro-Message Structures
- Graded Assignment: Evaluate ABT x 2 examples
- Graded Assignment: Create ABT x 2 from provided research paper
Module 5: Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
- Video: Vocal Tones and Nonverbals
- Reading: Vocal Tone Handout
- Graded Assignment: Video Analysis - Step 1
- Graded Assignment: Video Analysis - Step 2
- Graded Assignment: Video Analysis - Step 3
- Graded Assignment: Rubric Training Video Presentation Evaluation
- Video: Giving Constructive Feedback
- Graded Assignment: Rubric Training: Written Report Evaluation
- Reading: Resources and Hand-Outs
- Reading: Course Feedback
- Reading: Congratulations! Course Complete
- Reading: Citation correction
- Reading: Keep Learning with Michigan Online!
Grading Policy
Course materials and assignments are available for self-paced learning. Learners must earn an overall grade of 80% or higher to pass the course and receive a certificate. Final grades are based on the following assignments: Half-Your-Life Reflection (10%), Evaluate Summary Using Rubric (10%), Central Messaging Assignment (20%), Create ABTx2 from Provided Research Paper (20%), and Advocacy 1-Pager Final Assignment (40%).
Course content developed by U-M faculty and managed by the university. Faculty titles and affiliations are updated periodically.
Beginner Level
No prior experience required
