Communicating Meaning in the Intelligence Enterprise

Intelligence community experts face challenges communicating the results of analysis products to policy makers. Given the high-stakes nature of intelligence analyses, the consequences of misinformation may be dire, potentially leading to costly, ill-informed policies or lasting damage to national security. Much is known regarding how to effectively communicate complex analysis products to policy makers possessing different sources of expertise. Fuzzy-Trace Theory, an empirically-validated psychological account of how decision makers derive meaning from complex stimuli, emphasizes the importance of communicating the essential bottom-line of an analysis (“gist”), in parallel with precise details (“verbatim”). Verbatim details can be prone to misinterpretation when presented out of context. Several examples from intelligence analyses and laboratory studies are discussed, with implications for integrating knowledge from multiple sources of expertise, communicating complex technical information to nontechnical recipients, and identifying and training effective communicators. Collaboration between the academic and intelligence communities would facilitate new insights and scientifically grounded implementation of findings