How to Better Deliver Theory to Young People

The Yanhe Lecturers’ Group of Renmin University of China

中国人民大学“延河讲师团”

Young people are the “youthful bridge” through which the Party’s innovative theories reach the grassroots and permeate people’s hearts. As a generation that coexists with the internet and resonates with the times, young people are naturally immune to rigid preaching yet possess a strong thirst for vivid ideas; they bear the mission of studying and practicing the Party’s innovative theories, and also have the unique advantage of interpreting theory from a youthful perspective and spreading ideas in youthful language. Entering the New Era, facing the strategic overall situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and changes unseen in a century, using the Party’s innovative theories to unify thought, will, and action is both a required course for young people’s growth and a responsibility of the times.

青年是党的创新理论走进基层、浸润人心的“青春桥梁”。作为与互联网共生、与时代同频的一代，青年既对刻板说教天然免疫，又对鲜活思想有着强烈渴求；既肩负着学习践行党的创新理论的使命，更拥有用青春视角解读理论、用青春话语传播思想的独特优势。进入新时代，面对中华民族伟大复兴战略全局和世界百年未有之大变局，用党的创新理论统一思想、统一意志、统一行动，对青年群体而言既是成长必修课，更是时代责任。

At a time when the entire Party and the whole country are deeply studying and implementing the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC [1]1 The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, held in 2024, focused on comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization., youth theoretical propaganda forces represented by the Yanhe Lecturers’ Group of Renmin University of China closely follow the plenum’s deployments, combine their professional expertise, ignite youthful passion, and give full play to the role of youth theoretical propaganda as “light cavalry.” They enter grassroots frontlines such as universities, primary and secondary schools, communities, villages, and enterprises, using unique advantages and innovative practices to provide inspiring answers on how to conduct theoretical propaganda in ways more suited to young people’s thinking characteristics and reception habits.

在全党全国深入学习贯彻党的二十届四中全会精神之际，以中国人民大学“延河讲师团”为代表的青年理论宣讲力量，紧扣全会部署、结合专业所长、点燃青春激情，充分发挥青年理论宣讲“轻骑兵”作用，走进大中小学和社区、乡村、企业等基层一线，以独特优势和创新实践，为以更符合青年思维特点和接受习惯的方式开展理论宣讲，给出了富有启发性的答案。

1. Solving the Problem of the Gap Between Theoretical Discourse and Young People’s Lives

1. 破解理论话语与青年生活之间的隔阂问题

For young people full of vitality and focused on practical experience, abstract expressions divorced from reality and grand narratives detached from life are hard to truly enter their hearts. The root cause of poor propaganda effects in some cases lies in the failure to bridge the gap from “document language” to “mass language” and from “theoretical logic” to “life logic.”

对充满活力、注重实践体验的青年而言，那些脱离现实的抽象表述、脱离生活的宏大叙事，很难真正走进他们的心里。一些宣讲效果不佳，根源在于未能跨越从“文件语言”到“群众语言”、从“理论逻辑”到“生活逻辑”的鸿沟。

The Yanhe Lecturers’ Group takes the polishing of propaganda content as its core foundation, insists on learning one step ahead and delving deeper, and simultaneously exerts effort in framework design, expression transformation, and quality control, striving to unify “speaking accurately, deeply, thoroughly, and vividly.” In content organization, they create course modules, design themes, form a matrix of thematic courses, and condense representative propaganda cases. In expression methods, they emphasize “using facts to explain principles,” linking the plenum’s deployments with real-world issues such as development and reform, social governance, technological innovation, and ecological civilization, using a narrative chain of “theoretical points—real scenarios—case explanations—action insights” to transform macro-level expressions into understandable, discussable, and relatable life topics. Using vivid language such as “ecological civilization construction is not the government’s ‘one-man show’ but the people’s ‘grand chorus’” and “young people are the vibrant ‘players’ on this chessboard,” they turn theoretical cognition into actionable declarations. By promoting the “re-translation” of theory for the masses in specific contexts, they enable the popularization of theory to achieve more persuasive and impactful innovation and creation while maintaining its scientificity and truth.

延河讲师团把宣讲内容打磨作为核心基础，坚持先学一步、学深一层，在框架设计、表达转化与质量把关上同步发力，力求把“讲准、讲深、讲透、讲活”统一起来。在内容组织上，打造课程板块，设计主题，形成专题课程矩阵，凝练形成代表性宣讲案例。在表达方式上，强调“用事实讲道理”，把全会部署同发展改革、社会治理、科技创新、生态文明等现实议题贯通起来，以“理论要点—现实场景—案例说明—行动启示”的叙述链条，将宏观表述转化为可理解、可讨论、可代入的生活议题。用“生态文明建设不是政府的‘独角戏’，而是全民的‘大合唱’”“青年，正是这盘棋局中充满活力的‘棋手’”等生活化的语言，把理论认知转化为可感可行的行动宣示。通过推动理论在具体情境中完成一次面向群众的“再转译”，使理论大众化在保持科学性、真理性的前提下实现更具说服力感染力的创新创造。

2. Solving the Problem of “Attention Competition” Between Theoretical Propaganda and the Modern Communication Ecology

2. 破解理论宣讲与现代传播生态之间的“注意力争夺”问题

This is an era of information explosion and scarce attention. Digital communication methods such as short videos and social media have profoundly changed people’s, especially young people’s, habits of receiving information; they tend to prefer fragmented, visual, and interactive content. In this context, traditional lecture-hall-style propaganda of “I speak, you listen” faces severe challenges. “Good wine also fears deep alleys” [2]2 A Chinese idiom meaning that even good things need promotion to be noticed.; the profound connotations of theory need attractive communication carriers.

现在是信息爆炸、注意力稀缺的时代，短视频、社交媒体等数字化传播方式，深刻改变了人们尤其是青年的信息接收习惯，他们更倾向碎片化、视觉化、互动性强的内容。在此背景下，传统“我讲你听”的报告厅式宣讲面临严峻挑战，“酒香也怕巷子深”，理论的深刻内涵需要有吸引力的传播载体。

The Yanhe Lecturers’ Group has not clung to the model of “one mouth, one script, one person speaking.” Instead, they reshape the communication path through online-offline linkage and multi-scenario coverage: online, they use platforms as the “entry point” for propaganda reservations, uniformly accepting demands and coordinating forces, and with an efficiency of “finding the person, matching the topic, and arranging the session,” they shift propaganda from “centralized arrangement” to “demand-driven.” Offline, they insist on “going down,” moving from the “lecture hall” to frontlines such as communities, villages, and enterprises, using closer physical distance and a more equal communication atmosphere to enhance the sense of presence and gain. More importantly, they promote the extension of propaganda from “organizing listening” to “organizing life,” focusing on resonating with grassroots Party and Youth League organization study arrangements, themed Party (League) days, and other activities. Relying on carriers such as the “three meetings and one lesson” system of Party and Youth League organizations [3]3 The “three meetings and one lesson” system refers to regular meetings of the Party branch committee, Party member meetings, Party group meetings, and Party lessons, which are basic organizational life systems within the CPC., they form a chain arrangement of “pre-study introduction, in-study propaganda, and post-study exchange,” transforming one-time propaganda into regular learning. Through innovation in organizational methods and communication scenarios, they break through the limitations of time, space, and attention barriers, enabling theoretical dissemination to both “expand coverage” and “take root.”

延河讲师团没有固守“一张嘴、一份稿、一言堂”模式，而是以线上线下联动、多场景覆盖的方式重塑传播路径：在线上，以平台作为宣讲预约“入口”，统一受理需求、统筹调度力量，并以“找得到人、对得上题、排得上场”的对接效率，推动宣讲由“集中安排”转向“需求牵引”。在线下，坚持“下沉”，从“报告厅”走向社区、乡村、企业等一线现场，以更近的物理距离与更平等的交流氛围提升现场感与获得感。更重要的是，推动宣讲从“组织听讲”延伸为“组织生活”，注重与基层党团组织学习安排、主题党（团）日等活动同频共振，依托党团“三会一课”等载体形成“学前有导入、学中有宣讲、学后有交流”的链条式安排，把一次性宣讲转化为常态学习。通过组织方式与传播场景的创新，打破时空局限与注意力壁垒，使理论传播既能“扩面”，也能“扎根”。

3. Solving the Problem of Supply-Demand Mismatch Between Homogeneous Supply and Differentiated Demand

3. 破解同质供给与分众化需求之间的供需错位问题

The audiences for theoretical propaganda are vastly different. Groups with different industries, ages, and knowledge backgrounds have varying focuses, doubts, and reception methods. Even among young people, who seem to share similar era backgrounds, their demands are highly diverse: university students care about academic frontiers, postgraduate entrance exams, employment, and personal growth; young professionals focus on industrial policies, career development, and rights protection; returning youth concentrate on rural revitalization, entrepreneurship support, and resource connections. Young people from different majors and fields have vastly different focuses and reception methods regarding theory. However, many propaganda efforts suffer from homogeneous content supply and single expression methods, with one script “traveling the world” and one set of discourse “coping with all.” This “flood irrigation” style of propaganda, while seemingly broad in coverage, lacks targeting and fails to precisely respond to the individualized needs of different groups.

理论宣讲受众千差万别，不同行业、年龄、知识背景的群体，关注点、疑惑点和接受方式各不相同，即便对青年群体而言，看似有着相似的时代背景，实则需求高度多元：高校学子关心学术前沿、考研就业与个人成长，职场青年关注产业政策、职业发展与权益保障，返乡青年聚焦乡村振兴、创业扶持与资源对接，不同专业、不同领域的青年，对理论的关注点和接受方式更是千差万别。然而，许多宣讲存在内容供给同质化、表达方式单一化的问题，一份讲稿“走遍天下”、一套话语“应对所有”，这种“大水漫灌”式宣讲看似覆盖面广，实则针对性差，难以精准回应不同群体的个性化需求。

The Yanhe Lecturers’ Group takes adaptability as the key to improving propaganda effectiveness, implementing “teaching according to the topic and preparing according to the person” in the three links of matching, lesson preparation, and presentation, promoting the shift of propaganda from “unified supply” to “precise matching.” Relying on online reservation information, they clarify the audience type, organizational scenario, and focus points before the propaganda, forming a lesson preparation checklist of “object portrait—content arrangement—key point prompts,” and under the same theme, they complete topic matching, case replacement, and expression adjustment, ensuring that the propaganda starts by addressing concerns and hitting key points. At the same time, they embed problem awareness into the propaganda structure, transforming issues of development, reform, governance, and people’s livelihood into “answerable questions.” Through a narrative method of “problem posing—policy response—action insights,” they enhance explanatory power and persuasiveness; and on the basis of “menu-style” thematic supply, they form “propaganda packages” that can be combined on demand, achieving “the same theme, different approaches.” By flexibly responding to individual needs with the identity characteristics of youth, and through precise yet vivid explanations, they build bridges for theoretical dissemination across different social circles.

延河讲师团把适配度作为提高宣讲实效的关键，把“因题施讲、因人备讲”落实到对接、备课、呈现三个环节，推动宣讲从“统一供给”向“精准对接”转变。依托线上预约信息，他们在宣讲前明确受众类型、组织场景与关注重点，形成“对象画像—内容编排—要点提示”的备课清单，并在同一主题下完成选题匹配、案例替换与表达调整，确保宣讲开场即对准关切、直击要点。与此同时，把问题意识嵌入宣讲结构，将发展、改革、治理、民生等议题转化为“可回答的问题”。通过“问题提出—政策回应—行动启示”的叙述方式增强解释力与说服力；并在“菜单式”专题供给基础上形成可按需组合的“宣讲包”，做到“同一主题、不同讲法”。以青年的身份特征灵活回应个性需求，以精准又生动的阐释在不同社会圈层之间搭建起理论传播的桥梁。

(Author: The Yanhe Lecturers’ Group of Renmin University of China)

（作者：中国人民大学“延河讲师团”）