Messaging to the public regarding advance care planning, palliative care and hospice is inconsistent and confusing. Hospice and palliative care specialists are often asked to talk to the public about care for people with serious illness, but most have received little or no training in public messaging or media engagement. This activity reviews the need for improving public messaging about advance care planning, palliative care, and hospice along with the empirical evidence for public attitudes and awareness of these aspects of care for serious illness.