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Both the channel (the conduit for sending your message to the chosen target audience) and the purpose of communicating environmental information influence message design. Information may be designed to convey new facts, alter attitudes, change behavior, or encourage participation in decision-making. Some of these purposes overlap; often they are progressive. That is, for
persuasion to work, the public must first receive information, then understand it, believe it, agree with it, and then act upon it. Regardless of the purpose,
messages must be developed with consideration of the desired outcome. Factors that help determine public acceptance include:

* Clarity—Messages must clearly convey information to assure the public’s understanding and to limit the changes for misunderstanding or inappropriate action. Clear messages contain as few technical/scientific/bureaucratic terms as possible, and eliminate information that the audience does not need in order to make necessary decisions (such as unnecessarily detailed explanations). Readability tests can help determine the reading level required to understand drafted material and help writers to be conscientious about the selection of words and phrases.

* Consistency—In an ideal world there would be specific consensus on the meaning of new findings, and all messages on a particular topic would be consistent. Unfortunately, consistency is sometimes elusive. Experts tend to interpret new data differently, making consensus among government, industry, and public interest groups difficult.

*Main points—The main points should be stressed, repeated, and never hidden within less strategically important information.

* Tone and appeal—A message should be reassuring, alarming, challenging, or straightforward, depending upon the desired impact and the target audience. Messages should also be truthful, honest and as complete as possible.

* Credibility—The spokesperson and source of the information should be believable and trustworthy.

*Public need—For a message to break through the “information clutter” of society, messages should be based on what the target audience perceives as most important
to them, what they want to know, and not what is most important or most interesting to the originating agency.

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