What Every Nutrition Professional Needs to Know About Effective Communication

How would you answer the questions illustrated above? What is communication? And more specifically, what is nutrition communication?

Answering these questions forms the initial focus of Chapter 1 in Communicating Nutrition: The Authoritative Guide. In preparation for revising this chapter to create the second edition, let’s revisit these definitions.

What is communication?

The introduction to the chapter opens with this description of communication:

Communication is a universal experience that begins with a baby’s first cry. It develops through language acquisition, learning to read and write, and throughout life as a person interacts with others in an increasingly complex world. Communication is an essential life skill that includes not only words but also body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. People communicate through spoken and written words, illustrations, videos, and even silence. As Hybels and Weaver succinctly state in Communicating Effectively, “To live is to communicate.”(1)

Do you agree? Communication encompasses much of our experience as human beings. But what is it exactly? How is communication defined?

Turn the page in Chapter 1 and communication is defined as follows:

Communication is the act of transmitting or exchanging information, thoughts, or ideas (as in nonverbal, verbal, or written messages) between a sender and one or more receivers. The term is also used for the message itself, for the means used for transmitting messages, and for the field of study concerned with the interchange of ideas and messages.(2)

As nutrition professionals, we communicate information, thoughts, or ideas related to food and nutrition. Therefore, we must define what nutrition communication means.

What is nutrition communication?

The first heading in Chapter 1 asks this question and the answer begins with “Nutrition Communication is Self-Explanatory. Nutrition communication is just what it says it is – communication about nutrition.”

We created a working definition of nutrition communication for food and nutrition professionals in Chapter 1, which reads as follows:

Nutrition communication is communication about food and nutrition for the purpose of developing a platform for inquiry and exchange of ideas or to influence knowledge, understanding, attitudes, decision-making processes, or behaviors.

Putting the two definitions together (communication and nutrition communication) we see that nutrition communication is the exchange of information, thoughts, or ideas about food and nutrition to encourage discovery and learning, foster improved understanding and attitudes, empower informed decision-making, and promote healthful behaviors.

These desired outcomes of nutrition communication can be delineated as purpose statements, goals, or objectives. Chapter 1 describes how each of these terms differs from the others as follows:

• Purposes for nutrition communication may include building awareness, education, promotion, inspiration, motivation, entertainment, forming a relationship, or building a platform, among others. A purpose is a broad statement and is more general than goals, outcomes, or objectives. It helps create goals, which will then lead to outcomes or objectives.
  

• A goal contains more detail than a purpose statement. Goals can relate to a particular program, a series of events or delivered messages, or an individual message. Goals can be written from the perspective of what the nutrition communicator will accomplish or what the audience will achieve.
  

• Desired outcomes or objectives are specific measurements that indicate whether the goal was achieved. They are written from the viewpoint of what the audience members will learn, engage in, or demonstrate.

The chapter illustrates these differences with this example:

Purpose:	To motivate
Goal:	Motivate the audience to prevent food waste
Objective:	Audience members will describe four strategies they plan to implement to prevent food waste. (This is considered a behavioral intention.)

The opening section of Chapter 1 concludes with a list of goals for nutrition communication derived from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on the Science of Science Communication identified five goals for communicating science.(3)  These goals served as inspiration for generating the goals for nutrition communication listed below. Think of these as categories of nutrition communication goals.

• Increase appreciation of science and the role of food and nutrition in health and well-being.

• Influence individual or collective decision-making processes related to food, nutrition, and health.

• Improve knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to food, nutrition, and health.

• Engage change agents in collective inquiry, analysis, reflection, and innovation. Change agents are those in a position to influence others, such as parents, educators, and other professionals, including those in industry, government, academia, and more.

• Inspire creative thinking, goal setting, behavior change, and long-term improvements in health and well-being.

What are other nutrition communication goals? The goals for nutrition communication may seem to be the same as the overall goals for nutrition practice. This is because nutrition cannot be practiced effectively without communication. Communication is the essence of nutrition practice.

“You cannot not communicate. ” ~ Paul Watzlawick

1. Hybels S, Weaver R. Communicating Effectively. 5th ed. McGraw-Hill; 1998.

2. Collins English Dictionary. Communication. Accessed April 25, 2018. www​.‌collinsdictionary​.‌com​/‌us​/‌dictionary​/‌english​/‌communication

3. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Communicating Science Effectively: A Research Agenda. National Academies Press; 2017. doi:10.17226/23674

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