How to adapt your research for a wider audience

Your research is likely to be important and credible in the academic community, but what about outside of it? I mean the general public.

No matter how many citations and notoriety you get among your colleagues, the impact you can create if the broader public takes an interest in your work is much greater and can affect government policy and influence public opinion and sustainability.

This impact is only possible when the research is accessible to a wider audience, from industry experts to ordinary enthusiasts.

In this article, we share some important secrets for successfully connecting with the general public: choosing your target audience and tailoring your message to reach them.

Learning from journalists

In one of our articles, we talked about what researchers can learn from journalists. That's because there's nothing better than journalistic techniques to teach you how to make the dissemination of your projects on the web more accessible to non-academics.

And the first step is to understand how they think, and that's simple: They want to know what you've discovered and why it's important.

Academic writing is typically formal and uses a lot of passive voice, such as "the authors suggest...". However, this style may not be suitable for a general audience. It's essential to adjust your writing style to suit your intended audience.

Journalistic techniques such as using words that most people will understand, using short sentences and paragraphs (getting to the point), eliminating unnecessary words that create redundancy, using sentences with active voice, and organizing information from most important to least important can help you with this.

Identifying your target audience

Now that you know how the general public thinks, it's time to identify who your target audience is. Anyone who might be interested in your work is a potential member of your target audience.

This can include anyone from policymakers and industry professionals to the media, educators, students, and the general public. Understanding your audience's interests and level of knowledge is key to tailoring your message effectively.

Tailoring your message

Once you've identified your target audiences, it's time to present personalized messages for each of them.

To do this, you can use a simple formula, answering a few questions: what you did? Why you did it? What you discovered? What it means to your audience? You can also use a hook or a story to attract your audience's attention and curiosity.

To help focus your efforts and save time, choose your most important target audiences and start with them.

Other aspects to consider when tailoring your message:

• Adapting your language

Simplify complex terms without losing the essence of your findings. Avoid jargon and, when technical terms are necessary, explain them briefly.

• Using analogies and visual resources

Compare known concepts and use visual resources such as images, graphs, and infographics. This makes your research not only more accessible but also more engaging.

• Taking advantage of social media

Platforms such as LinkedIn, X, and Instagram offer many opportunities to share your research with different audiences: short posts, attractive visuals, and videos.

• Making research interactive

Consider developing interactive elements, such as websites where users can explore data or virtual reality experiences that allow users to "see" the effects of their research.

• Using active voice and clear language

Whatever format you choose, you must communicate the results of your research using an active voice and clear language. Keep it simple!

Researchers are trained to communicate with other researchers and usually explain their findings in chronological order or as they would appear in their articles.

So try to do the reverse:

• First, tell them why they should care.

• Tell them the most important conclusions, the big picture.

• Explain the details, the results, and how you got there.

This structure, known as the inverted pyramid, is extremely effective with journalists. It presents the main details in the first paragraph and then completes the story with more specific information as the article progresses.

By providing this structure and value to your audience, they are more likely to engage with you and, therefore, give you what you want, whether it's making your research known or getting new volunteers or donors.

A call to action

Researchers are responsible for bridging the gap between the results of complex research and the general public's understanding.

By embracing creativity in communication and looking for innovative ways to engage with a wider audience, you can ensure that your research doesn't just sit on a shelf but goes out into the world, making a real difference.

That's a call to action for you, like a researcher. By the way, remember to add a Call-to-Action (CTA) to your message, whether it's a video, an article, or an infographic.

These are just some of the techniques that researchers can learn from journalists. This is part 2 of 3. The first article in the series can be found here.