More Than a Handout: Rethinking the Power of the One Pager
From Plain Language to Purposeful Design, Creating One Pagers to Connect, Persuade, Clarify
February 13, 2026 | By Karen Rivedal, Office of Research & Scholarship
Alexa Shore urges project teams to step back and do foundational work before attempting to craft an effective one-pager.
A good one-pager is not only a tool for external communication but can also serve as a powerful internal strategic instrument, said Alexa Shore in a key point of her Feb. 5 presentation to WCER staff and projects, titled The Art of the One-Pager.
Shore, the business development coordinator for WCER’s SimLab, reframed the one-pager as a tool for reflection, alignment, and alliance — helping organizations clarify their purpose internally while communicating it effectively beyond their walls.
“Clarity is the competitive advantage here, because you’ve got to say everything people need to care about in about 30 seconds of reading time,” she said. “The one-pager is about connection.”
Commonly used by organizations as handouts or summary documents for external audiences, one-pagers can also reveal whether an organization has fully thought through its own work, especially during the process of creating one, Shore maintained. That’s because the discipline required to fit complex ideas onto a single page can surface gaps in alignment, language and purpose.
After gaps are addressed, the resulting internal clarity makes for a more powerful one-pager for any potential client, ally or funder that a project is trying to reach, Shore said.
Getting on ‘Same Page’
In a crowded information environment, research shows people typically spend only seconds reading a new document, Shore noted. The ability to convey what matters most — quickly, clearly and without relying on excess detail or technical language — determines whether a message resonates.
“If you simplify the language, it doesn’t make your work less serious,” she counseled. “It makes it more possible to connect. The more we can edit, scale back, and really highlight what’s most important, the easier it is for people to understand.”
Drawing on experience from a previous job as managing director of growth and strategy at the Bank Street Education Center in New York, Shore described how attempts to draft a one‑pager there revealed unresolved questions within teams. Staffers struggled to articulate clearly what their offerings were, what impact they aimed to have, and how their work connected to broader goals.
As a result, rather than rushing to produce a polished document, center teams had to step back and do foundational work — clarifying shared values, developing a common theory of action, and aligning on outcomes. Only after that internal work was done did it become possible to create a one‑pager that felt coherent and credible, Shore recalled.
“We weren’t ready to write our one-pager at first, because we weren’t on the same page,” she said.
How to Write and Design A One-Pager
Shore also outlined several principles that shape effective one‑pagers from a design and content standpoint. Key ideas included:
- Answer three core questions.
Clearly communicate: - What is the idea or offering?
- Why does it matter?
- Who is it for?
- Filter out jargon.
Use plain language that non‑experts can understand. - Avoid text walls.
Dense blocks of text discourage engagement. Edit aggressively and let structure guide the reader. - Choose visuals with purpose.
High‑quality images, simple graphs, and clear captions can communicate ideas faster than text — but only if they reinforce the message. - Include social proof.
Brief testimonials, partner examples, or reach statistics establish relevance and credibility. - End with a clear call to action.
Tell readers exactly what to do next, such as starting a conversation or exploring a partnership. Avoid vague prompts like “learn more” in favor of specific, actionable invitations.
“Without a clear call to action, people may look at a one-pager and say, ‘This is nice,’ but then they don’t do anything,” Shore said.
