I'm reading "Don't be Such a Scientist" by Randy Olson, subtitled, "Talking Substance in an Age of Style." The book is designed to help scientists get their message across using storytelling.
His point is that scientists tend to focus almost solely on logic--facts, figures, rational arguments. And while those are very important, they don't appeal to the mass audience. To reach them, you have to hit at least three out of four organs:
To reach the broadest audience, you need to move the process out of the HEAD and into the HEART with sincerity and emotion, into the GUT with humor and intuition, and, ideally, into the LOWER ORGANS with sex appeal.
He points out that the way to communicate most effectively is to use the lower three organs to arouse interest, and then the brain to deliver meaningful content.
Scientists often try to go right to the content, skipping the arousal.
Hollywood, on the other hand, is great at arousing, but often forgets to deliver any content. (My recent posts on the film "2012" gave that as an example of what he's talking about.)
I know these points are really basic, but I also know from experience that it's very easy to forget the basics, especially when we're deep into a project, so I appreciated Olson's reminder that all kinds of storytellers, not just scientists, are prone to leaving out one or more of the organs.
(For tips on how to be more creative and productive, sign up now for my free monthly Brainstorm e-bulletin. Just send an email request to [email protected])
