
In this opening lecture, I share my journey through the science and art of public health communication. During the worst of the COVID pandemic, I did well over 2000 media interviews and experienced hate mail and even threats of violence for daring to explain the nature of a disease and its public health implications. This presentation lays bare the reality of the current public discourse landscape, where social and ideological divisions require that we who communicate with the public do so carefully and with full understanding of the implications of our words.
The formal models and paradigms of communication are explored, from the standard "knowledge deficit model" to the "Dialogue model", the "Participatory model", the "Narrative model" and beyond. Which is best? Which more accurately represents the reality of today's communication landscape?
Increasingly, employers and government are demanding that those who work in the public eye seek to express themselves in so-called "plain language." Exactly what does this mean? Is it always appropriate? And how do we do it?
From infographics to blog posts to social media and newspaper op-eds, what are the communication tools at our disposal? How best to use them? What are their pros and cons?
Probably what a lot of professionals expect from a public communication course, this final lecture goes over how best to comport oneself when doing engagements with the mainstream media. What do you do when a reporter first contacts you? How do you prepare for a live TV interview when you don't know what questions are coming? How can you make sure your core message gets through even when the time allotted for the interview is small?
While meant for graduate students of health science disciplines and professionals working in public health, this course is also useful for the layperson and anyone interested in the art and science of professional public engagement. It consists of five lectures covering the topics of:
(1) The current divisive landscape of public communication in health and health care: the COVID-19 pandemic has changed health communication and raised the stakes.
(2) The traditional academic models of public communication, their advantages and disadvantages: standard models fail us in the new political reality.
(3) How to speak and write in so-called "plain language": it's not about "dumbing down" the language, but about understanding the message.
(4) The tools available to the modern communicator, including social media and newspaper op-ed articles: writing is still among the most important skills.
(5) How to prepare for TV and print interviews: media training isn't about dodging the question, but about message discipline, charm, and credibility.
The course is taught by a seasoned public health communicator with well over 2000 media interviews under his belt. Professor Deonandan is an award-winning scientist, teacher, writer, and public speaker. In this new era of continuous public health crisis and an ideologically divided population, it's important that professionals get used to crafting their message for the public eye.