Imagine I work for the National Institutes of Health and I’m talking with a reporter or policymaker, or even with my neighbor. A natural question is, “What has the NIH done with all the funding it has received?” Or slightly more challenging, “Are my tax dollars being spent well?” I could say, “The NIH invests more than $31 billion annually in medical research to improve lives,” or instead I could say:

“Because of research accomplished by the National Institutes of Health…

• Blood-thinning drugs prevent strokes and save lives
• Fluoride in water protects our teeth for life
• Our blood supply is clean and safe from viruses like HIV and hepatitis
• Cholesterol-lowering statins prevent heart disease
• Effective medicines treat millions with depression
• Quitting smoking prevents many diseases like cancer, heart disease, and COPD
• Medicines block mother-to-child HIV transmission
• Artificial skin allows severe burns to heal
• The sequencing of the human genome has opened a world of unprecedented opportunities for science, medicine, and health.”

My reaction to the second answer? Impressed. These messages work because they are brief, they reference diseases or conditions I know, and they are jargon-free. Reducing the amazing research that has been accomplished by 27 Institutes and Centers—within a somewhat faceless enormous Institute that lies within an even larger government agency (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)—to these simple, visual, clear lines is extremely powerful. (By the way, the majority of Americans don’t even know what the NIH is according to a survey by Research!America. It is the largest public supporter of biomedical research in the world).

I found these lines in a brochure, “NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health” while on the NIH campus last week working with leaders who are often asked questions like the ones I asked. My guess is, if the NIH can reduce years and years of amazing research into a few bullet points, you can do the same for your work, or your organization’s efforts.