World AIDS Day is an opportunity to discuss the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) communication theory as it relates to HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention efforts. The ELM proposes that people process persuasive messages through either the central route, carefully considering arguments, or the peripheral route, relying on mental shortcuts. Mary Fisher's "A Whisper of AIDS" speech used various peripheral cues like authority, consistency and social proof to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS without necessarily elaborating on every argument. While peripheral cues can be effective for unmotivated audiences, their impact tends to be short-lived compared to central route processing which may lead to more long-lasting attitude changes.
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