Maximizing the Impact of Your Messages: Developing Compelling Messages Based on a Communication Strategy

BOLDAPPROVED Newsletter Issue 2:

Maximizing the Impact of Your Messages: Developing Compelling Messages Based on a Communication Strategy

Much ado has been made about the apparent shrinking average attention span of people since the digital revolution – “8 seconds, shorter than that of a goldfish!”[1] In the age of social media, digital workplaces, and infinite notifications and pop-ups, that refrain is easy to believe.

But what if I were to tell you that there has been zero change in our actual attention spans?

Research shows that people today are capable of sustaining focused attention for up to 5 hours. This is possible because we can repeatedly choose to refocus on the same topic, particularly if the information is interesting and important.[2]

This is good news for those of us who need to communicate complex scientific information. We usually need our audience to pay attention for much more than 8 seconds, often for an hour or more.

Our mission as communicators is to craft messages that grab and continually renew our audience’s attention, motivating audiences to remain engaged and propelling them to take action toward desired outcomes.

Read on for our tips for generating compelling messages that reinvigorate attention while successfully implementing your communication strategy.

Start with a communication strategy

In our previous BOLDAPPROVED newsletter we provided a process to align your full team on a strong, audience-focused communication strategy before developing your messages. Your strategy is the guiding light that will ensure your messages are targeted, compelling, and persuasive.

Your communication strategy has three interlocking components:

• Desired outcomes: the actions you want the audience to take once they have heard the message.
• Audience analysis: an in-depth understanding of your audience, including the specific needs, motivations, pressures, experiences, training, biases, and concerns that will influence how your audience responds to your messages.
• Argument: a persuasive, evidence-based sequence of claims that will speak directly to your audience and propel them towards your desired outcomes. The argument should include an opening, no more than three main claims, and a closing that motivates the audience to act.

Develop messages based on your argument

If your message does not captivate your audience within a few seconds, chances are you will lose their attention to some competing distraction.

Your opening statement should be attention-grabbing and BOLD – one that immediately interests your audience and motivates them to pay attention to what you say next. This statement should still be evidence based and never misleading, but don’t be afraid to say something unexpected that elicits a strong emotion from your audience. Your audience analysis will help guide you in crafting your opening message to appeal to your target audience.

Next, develop the three main claims of your argument. These messages will draw in your audience and convince them to take your intended action. Each of the main claims will have a set of supporting major and minor messages based on your data and rationale. Each claim and every message should be as strong as the data will support, without overreaching. A strong message will often need substantiation in the form of data and other support – this is often where data displays come into the process – and we will address this topic in a future issue.

Finally, end with a call to action tied to what matters most to your audience. Your messages should compel your audience to act to achieve your goals.

Check each message against the communication strategy

Check each message against your communication strategy to ensure that it is aligned. Does the message help to achieve the desired outcome? Does it speak to the concerns of the audience? Does it support a claim of the argument? If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” then the message does not fit with the strategy.

For example, it is common to have far more information than is necessary to make your point. Many messages may be scientifically sound but are just too deep in the weeds for the purpose of your communication.

Edit down your messages to those your audience finds most meaningful, in line with your communication strategy.

Make sure each message is as compelling as it can be

Next, evaluate each message to ensure that it is as compelling as possible. Does it mitigate a potential weakness? Does it maximize the strengths of the data? Alternatively, does it open the door to questions that cannot be answered? Is it purely descriptive or informational? Does it stretch just a little past what the data can support? It may be necessary to adjust the message by toning down or tempering the message, or it may be possible to make the message stronger.

My favorite question to ask when refining a message set is, “Does the message engage the audience?” We call these, “Prove it” messages. A compelling message will state something so strongly that it is almost too good to be true and requires strong data to support. These are the types of messages that can reinvigorate the audience’s attention and ensure they are engaged to hear the evidence that you are about to show them.

Prepare additional supporting messages for longer communications

A shorter communication, such as a social media post or brief email, will likely have fewer messages that will align closely with your targeted argument.

Longer communications, such as scientific publications or presentations, regulatory applications, or briefing materials for FDA meetings, will require more major and minor supporting messages that help substantiate the claims and keep your audience engaged for a long period of time. In these cases, messages may need to be organized into categories or sections based on the nature of the deliverable.

A regulatory submission for a new drug or biologic, for example, has overview sections that can be highly message-driven, but then it also has data sections that provide the details to prove or support each message.

Another example is the briefing document for an FDA Advisory Committee meeting (AdComm). The AdComm briefing document is structured to address the concerns of the Committee rather than those of the regulatory reviewers. The briefing document typically will support a presentation that is focused on messages that can be consumed in short bites, one slide at a time, leaving the remaining data and details for the Committee’s perusal of the briefing document.

While different audiences and different modes of communication may shift the balance of messages and support, this approach can be applied to communication deliverables of any length. Following this approach to generate messages that continuously re-engage your audience’s attention will lead to more compelling communication deliverables that will drive your audience toward your desired outcomes.

About the Authors

Angela W. Corona, PhD, is a Senior Scientific Director with BOLDAPPROVALS where she supports teams approaching new drug or biologics approvals. With 10 years of broad medical and regulatory communications experience across a range of therapeutic areas including neurology/neurodegenerative disease, oncology, and immunology, she has played a key role in preparing teams for AdComms, strategic submission messaging, and other complex regulatory communication challenges. Her PhD training was in neuroscience at The Ohio State University, and she performed post-doctoral research in Alzheimer’s disease at Case Western Reserve University.

Steven C. Cohen is the Managing Director of BOLDAPPROVALS, the division of BOLDSCIENCE that prepares clients for AdComms, regulatory submissions for the approval of new therapeutics (NDAs/BLAs), FDA meetings, and label development. Steven has 33 years of leadership in communication consulting, strategy, and delivery coaching, including 117 AdComm preparations. He has supported numerous health authority interactions at key milestones and led submission messaging workshops. He has trained and coached over 1000 scientists, clinicians, and other leaders across disciplines. Steven earned a bachelor’s degree in French Literature from Wesleyan University. He studied medical science at NY Medical College and marketing, communication, and the internet at Columbia University.

About BOLDAPPROVALS

BOLDAPPROVALS blends science, communication, and technology to support product approvals. We deliver comprehensive support for FDA Advisory Committee meetings (AdComms), submission messaging, labeling strategy, and health authority interactions.

Our proven methodology integrates in-house scientific expertise with communication consulting to develop compelling, data-driven arguments for persuasive presentations, responses to questions, and briefing materials.

Our highly experienced team has supported over 250 AdComm preparations and aligned teams on messages for regulatory submissions and interactions with health authorities. Our team can address the unique needs of your people, products, and circumstances.

To learn more about how BOLDAPPROVALS can help your team, please visit boldapprovals.com, email [email protected], or call Steven Cohen at +1 (646) 930-0453.

[1] McSpadden, Kevin. “You Now have a Shorter Attention Span Than a Goldfish.” TIME. May 14, 2015. https://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/. Accessed May 17, 2024.

[2] Fortenbaugh FC, DeGutis J, Germine L, et al. Sustained Attention Across the Life Span in a Sample of 10,000: Dissociating Ability and Strategy. Psychol Sci. 2015;26(9):1497-1510. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4567490/