Half-Life Your Message: A Quick, Flexible Tool for Message Discovery

Abstract

Academic writers and presenters need concrete activities to help them learn how to communicate more effectively. We describe such a tool, called “Half-Life Your Message,” which is adapted from a commonly used improvisational theater game and can be applied in three minutes to distill a central thesis for any communication effort. Users can increase the value provided by Half-Life Your Message by scaffolding its application with an introduction and opportunity to self-reflect and debrief. We emphasize the tool’s utility based on our experiences in using it ourselves and in teaching it to undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty.