How to Bring Research to Life: Show People Why it Matters
How can you secure research grant funding, attract institutional philanthropic gifts and engage—even inspire—the audience at your next presentation? NBC4 Managing Editor Catherine Snyder and pediatric oncologist Giselle Sholler, M.D., M.S.C. teamed up at the AAMC 2015 conference today to demonstrate how. All three have come to fruition for Sholler, who presents regularly around the country. She is the Director of Innovative Therapeutics and Clinic Pediatric Oncology Head at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine.
The How? Tell medical stories that resonate. Look for patients that have a compelling story to tell and share them with the media (with patient permission, of course). As you think about presenting a story consider visual aspects and keep in mind that most news is now consumed via social media and mobile phones, says Snyder. Visual aspects are vital in competing for viewership. One NBC4 story involved video footage of a woman with Parkinson’s disease before her MRI-guided ultrasound treatment, during and after—including her elation at being able to not just walk but run. When posted on NBC4's Facebook page, the story quickly reached more than 110,000 people and gleaned thousands of comments.
“We look for emotional connection; they [patient stories] might leave you feeling sadness, outrage or uplifted,” says Snyder. “We tell stories about people, not things. When there is a great breakthrough or a new medical drug, it is the people we focus on not the product.”
“Shoot for clear and simple explanations to deliver the message, which many doctors are good at because they are used to helping patients understand,” adds Snyder. The research data, the scientific details, can be presented later on a digital platform; the patient’s story can lead viewers there.
The media can help academic-medical institutes with the common goal of educating and empowering the public, beginning simply with a patient’s story.
Better than Caffeine—Waking Up Your Audience
Sholler learned that once she started replacing jam-packed columns of data and graphs with photos of her patients and their personal medical narratives, the audience was hooked. She put in the necessary data and history within the story.
“We are not taught how to share our message with the world in medical schools; I’ve learned this is really important, as a physician and a scientist,” says Sholler. “Learning how to talk to the media can be important in helping us get the word out and the more effectively we can communicate our message the more it will be shared. Not just outside your institute, but also inside; it might convince people not to cut a program or inspire others to get involved.”
She adds that potential funders want to better understand your area of research and see how you can communicate about what you are doing beyond the data. “Communication is the key to creating today’s novel funding model,” says Sholler, whose new presentation style ultimately resulted in a $2 million donation.
Communication via patient stories reaches a larger population of people who can bring value and awareness to the work of research-physician. For Sholler, it all comes down to finding cures through research. In this effort she has helped found the campaign, Research Means Hope, through the Association of American Medical Colleges to raise awareness about the critical need for federal investment in medical research. Check it out. It might impact your own story one day.
Peta Owens is a Communications Specialist for University of Utah Health Sciences/ARUP
