(part 1)

(part 2)

Faced with a choice between reassuring the paper’s 6 million (mostly female) readers based on a chorus of experts saying the vaccine is safe, and scaring them with a year-old quote from a previously unknown researcher, the paper came up with a masterpiece of mixed messages and managed to ride both horses at once, while clearly backing the scaremongers.

In the highly charged atmosphere following Natalie’s tragic death, the paper revived a story from a researcher at the University of Missouri-Kansas who claimed the jab’s benefits had been ‘exaggerated’. This gave the impression that she was questioning the vaccine’s safety…quite a claim given the circumstances.

In fact, close reading revealed that she was claiming the benefits might not last as long as claimed, and re-vaccination may be necessary. The researcher, Dr Diane Harper, made the scaremongers’ job easier by claiming the vaccine programme was ‘a public health experiment.’ Ill-advised words, and ill-advised reporting.

Ironically, in an accompanying piece claiming Britain had opted for Cervarix over Gardasil to save money, a claim that there have been 30 deaths following reported adverse reactions to Gardasil in the US was buried in the 5th para.

have no brief for either vaccine, and have worked on behalf of both manufacturers. I am however keen that people are given accurate, valuable information about risks and benefits.

Having two to three stories to illustrate points in your presentation always works well. Indeed some people are resistant to stories until they experience how powerful they can be.

5 reasons to include a story in your presentation.

They are:

1. Real
2. Short
3. Interesting
4. Emotionally connecting
5. Impactful

People Buy An Emotion And Justify It With A Fact

Your audience and listeners will write down the data and statistics but they will remember the stories.

The best source of stories comes from your life and your own experiences.

Telling stories is not only useful in the healthcare, medical or business setting, it is also useful in any interview situation.

“He understands the pharma industry, knows so much and brings it to life with relevant and realistic anecdotes and illustrations that are invaluable” Pharma Communications Director speaking about John Clare

Resources: Power Presenter by Jerry Weisman; The Story Factor by Annette Simmons

Tell us your experiences with story telling……….

Plain Language

Plain language is a strategy for making written and oral information easier to understand. It is one important tool for improving health literacy.  Key elements of Plain Language include:

• Organising information so that the most important points come first
• Breaking complex information into understandable chunks
• Using simple language and defining technical terms
• Using the active voice

Part of the NIH mission is to reach all Americans with health information they can use and the NIH are actively striving to communicate in a way that helps people to easily understand research results.

via NIH – Institutes, Offices & Centers.

This communication strategy from the NIH is also the core of Lionsden’s approach to health and medical communication.