The Power of Messaging

Perhaps the most significant "messenger" of all was William Shakespeare. Shakespeare observed four main messages as he observed the world.

1. Appearance and Reality
2. Change
3. Order and Disorder
4. Conflict and Resolution

If you were to think about it, those are also four of the main tentpoles in the never-ending quest for entertaining content in movies, TV Shows, Reality Shows, and even game shows.

The same four Shakespeare principles above can also be applied to hospitals and any message they wish to promote.

Appearance and reality have already shown to be a popular subject with the various medical dramas that have been a staple of prime time programming for decades.

Change; what better way to facilitate change than a compelling, well-produced message.

Order and Disorder

A classic storytelling gameplan. Start with Order, a well-running hospital, throw in some disorder, oh I don't know, maybe a global pandemic, and then back to order. The order/disorder mechanism can show how hospitals not only function but survive.

Conflict and resolution. The grandaddy of storytelling. Showing your patients, staff, vendors, and anyone who interacts with a hospital has experienced conflict. It's essential to show how a hospital can also resolve conflict.

It's harnessing the power of the message and then showcasing that message in a creative, compelling, and engaging fashion that makes the difference.

What do you want to say? What do you need to say? How do you want to say it? Why do you want to say it? All of these are questions can be easy to answer but very hard to convey. It's also not only conveying the message, but the tone is equally important. We've all been guilty of sending a text message or e-mail that we intended one way, but it was received a completely different way than the author intended.

Nuance, tone, and delivery all play a different part in the storytelling process. It's a learned skill, and when the message you are communicating has the right components that Shakespeare built his literary works with, you have accomplished the goal.

It's not any different from a hospital's message. It needs to be appropriately conveyed and entertainingly. Using Shakespear's four principles of messaging provides a time-tested approach to keeping an audience engaged.