The Storytelling Module for Doctors

The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come. – Steve Jobs
Imagine you’re on the presentation deck in the cozy and comfortable auditorium at a 5-Star Resort in Goa. You are there to speak at a medical conference on a gloriously sunny summer day.
As you walk up to the mike, you know it too well that the audience is distracted, and those distractions are there to stay.
Some are already feeling the cool warmth of the ever popular Goan Caju Feni ( local cashew wine with a whopping 42.8% alcohol) , making its way soothingly down their throat and lighting up their senses.
Why should these intelligent people in the conference room, rent their eyes and ears to you instead of their smart phones, or to the sight-seeing attractions marketed in the conference brochure ?
And in the midst of all these distractions, you have a presentation to deliver. And as I emphasize again : Whether you like it or not, you cannot wish the audience distractions away. They are here to stay.
A speech, a lecture or a presentation is not just the marriage of the facts, the data and the awesome Power Point presentations.
It’s a game of understanding your audience and the ambience. Above all, a speech, lecture or a presentation is about hooking and holding on to the audience attention by a heady DOSE of Cocktail. A cocktail of dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins (DOSE).
And it’s a DOSE best delivered by Storytelling.
“But how can you tell stories in a medical presentation ?’ , your mind pops up the question. My reply, “Why not ?”. And I will tell you how.
Every patient’s healthcare journey is a collection of stories :
History of Presenting Complaints,
Present History,
Past History,
Family History
Every doctor’s healthcare journey is a collection of stories too.
Both these sets of stories can be scripted, rescripted and narrated to yourself, your patients, your colleagues, referring doctors, contemporaries.
Join me on a journey specially curated for you – my doctor friends ; to excel in such scenarios. It’s time to Master the Art of Storytelling for a Life of Personal, Professional and Financial Excellence.