How to Pitch Your Research to Policy Makers and Influence Change
As a researcher, you may have spent months or even years working on a project that has the potential to make a positive impact on society. But how do you get your findings in front of the people who can actually use them to shape policies and decisions? How do you communicate your research in a way that is clear, concise, and compelling?
In this blog post, we will share 10 tips for pitching your research to policy makers and influencing change. Whether you want to reach local, national, or international audiences, these tips will help you craft a persuasive pitch that showcases the value and relevance of your research.
1. Know your audience
Before you start writing your pitch, you need to know who you are pitching to. Who are the policy makers that are most likely to be interested in your research? What are their goals, challenges, and priorities? What are the current policies and debates in your field? How does your research fit into the bigger picture?
Knowing your audience will help you tailor your pitch to their needs and expectations. You will be able to use the language and terminology that they are familiar with, address the issues that they care about, and highlight the benefits and implications of your research for them.
2. Define your key message
Your pitch should have one clear and concise message that summarizes the main point of your research. This message should answer the question: What is the most important thing that you want your audience to know or do after hearing your pitch?
Your key message should be specific, relevant, and actionable. It should not be a general statement of your research topic or a list of your findings. Instead, it should focus on the main contribution or recommendation of your research, and how it can help your audience solve a problem or achieve a goal.
For example, instead of saying “My research explores the effects of social media on mental health”, you could say “My research shows that limiting social media use to one hour per day can significantly improve mental well-being and productivity”.
3. Provide evidence and examples
Your pitch should not only tell your audience what your research says, but also show them how you arrived at your conclusions. You need to provide evidence and examples that back up your key message and demonstrate the validity and reliability of your research.
However, you don’t need to include every detail or data point of your research in your pitch. You should only select the most relevant and convincing evidence and examples that support your message and appeal to your audience. You should also explain how you collected and analyzed your data, and what methods and sources you used.
For example, you could say “To test the effects of social media use on mental health, I conducted a randomized controlled trial with 200 participants, who were assigned to either a high-use group (four hours per day) or a low-use group (one hour per day) for four weeks. I measured their levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and happiness using validated scales and surveys. I also interviewed them about their experiences and challenges with social media. The results showed that the low-use group reported significantly lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression, and higher levels of happiness, than the high-use group. These findings are consistent with previous studies and theories on the relationship between social media and mental health”.
4. Use clear and simple language
Your pitch should be easy to understand and follow for your audience. You should avoid using jargon, acronyms, or technical terms that may confuse or alienate them. You should also use short and simple sentences and paragraphs, and avoid complex or passive constructions.
If you need to use a term that is specific to your field or discipline, you should explain what it means and why it is important. You should also use examples, analogies, or metaphors to illustrate your points and make them more relatable.
For example, instead of saying “Social media use can lead to increased levels of cortisol, a hormone that regulates stress response and affects various physiological and psychological functions”, you could say “Social media use can make you more stressed, which can harm your health and mood. When you use social media, your body produces more of a chemical called cortisol, which is like an alarm system that tells you to fight or flee. But if this alarm system is constantly on, it can cause problems like high blood pressure, insomnia, or depression”.
5. Be concise and focused
Your pitch should be as short and focused as possible. You should only include the information that is essential and relevant to your key message and your audience. You should avoid adding unnecessary or redundant details, or going off on tangents or digressions.
A good way to keep your pitch concise and focused is to use the inverted pyramid structure, which is commonly used in journalism and web writing. This structure means that you start with the most important information (your key message), followed by the supporting information (your evidence and examples), and end with the background information (your methods and sources).
This structure helps you prioritize and organize your information, and makes it easier for your audience to follow and remember your main points. It also allows your audience to stop reading at any point and still get the gist of your pitch.
6. Include a call to action
Your pitch should not only inform your audience, but also inspire them to take action. You should include a call to action at the end of your pitch, which tells your audience what you want them to do next. This could be to read your full research paper, to contact you for more information, to share your research with others, to implement your recommendations, or to support your cause.
Your call to action should be clear, specific, and urgent. It should also explain the benefits or incentives of taking action, and the consequences or risks of not taking action.
For example, you could say “If you want to learn more about how to improve your mental health and productivity by limiting your social media use, you can download my full research paper here. You will also find practical tips and strategies on how to reduce your social media addiction and balance your online and offline life. Don’t miss this opportunity to take control of your well-being and happiness. Download my paper today and start making positive changes in your life”.
7. Use an engaging title and meta description
Your title and meta description are the first things that your audience will see when they find your blog post on search engines or social media. They are also the main factors that will influence their decision to click on your post or not. Therefore, you need to make sure that your title and meta description are engaging and enticing, and that they reflect the content and purpose of your post.
Your title should be catchy, catchy, and catchy. It should capture the attention and curiosity of your audience, and make them want to read more. It should also include your main keyword, which is the term that your audience is likely to use when searching for your topic on search engines.
Your meta description should be a short summary of your post, which expands on your title and gives your audience a preview of what they will learn or gain from reading your post. It should also include a call to action, which invites your audience to click on your post and read more.
For example, a good title and meta description for your blog post could be:
Title: How to Improve Your Mental Health and Productivity by Limiting Your Social Media Use
Meta description: Do you feel stressed, anxious, or depressed because of your social media addiction? Learn how to break free from the negative effects of social media and boost your well-being and happiness in this blog post. Plus, get practical tips and strategies on how to balance your online and offline life. Click here to read more and start making positive changes in your life.
8. Add relevant images and graphics
Images and graphics can enhance your blog post by making it more visually appealing and engaging. They can also help you illustrate your points, explain complex concepts, or show data and statistics. However, you need to make sure that the images and graphics you use are relevant, high-quality, and original.
Relevant images and graphics are those that support your key message and your evidence and examples. They should not be random, generic, or unrelated to your topic. They should also not be distracting, misleading, or confusing.
High-quality images and graphics are those that are clear, sharp, and professional. They should not be blurry, pixelated, or distorted. They should also have a suitable size, resolution, and format for your blog post.
Original images and graphics are those that you create yourself, or that you have permission to use from the source. They should not be copied, stolen, or plagiarized from other websites or sources. They should also have proper attribution and citation, if required.
For example, you could use a relevant, high-quality, and original image or graphic to show the results of your research, such as a chart, a graph, or a table. You could also use an image or graphic to make your blog post more attractive and eye-catching, such as a photo, a drawing, or an infographic.
9. Update your blog post regularly
One of the challenges of writing a blog post is to keep it up-to-date and relevant. Your research may become outdated or obsolete, new developments or trends may emerge, or new evidence or examples may become available. Therefore, you need to update your blog post regularly, to ensure that it reflects the latest and most accurate information.
Updating your blog post regularly will also help you improve your SEO (search engine optimization), which is the process of making your blog post more visible and attractive to search engines and users. Search engines prefer fresh and updated content, and they will rank your blog post higher if you update it frequently. Users also prefer current and updated content, and they will trust your blog post more if you show that you are updating your blog post regularly.
10. Share your blog post with your target audience
The final step of pitching your research to policy makers and influencing change is to share your blog post with your target audience. You need to promote your blog post and reach out to the people who can benefit from your research and act on your recommendations.
There are many ways to share your blog post, such as:
- Posting it on your own website or blog, or on a reputable platform or publication that is relevant to your field or topic.
- Sending it to your email list, or to specific contacts or organizations that are interested in your research or topic.
- Sharing it on social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram, using hashtags, tags, or mentions to increase your visibility and engagement.
- Creating a video, a podcast, a webinar, or a presentation that summarizes your blog post and invites your audience to read more.
- Participating in online or offline events, such as conferences, workshops, seminars, or forums, where you can present your blog post and network with your audience.
Sharing your blog post will help you increase your reach and impact, and establish your credibility and authority as a researcher. It will also help you get feedback and comments from your audience, which can help you improve your research and pitch.
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