Want to persuade people to eat less fat or exercise more?
Tell stories.
Want more patients to choose your hospital or
medical practice?
Tell stories.
Want healthcare policymakers to support your idea or program?
Tell stories.
Wired to Love Stories
Stories are more persuasive than facts and figures, because our brains are wired to love them. While healthcare is behind other industries in using storytelling, evidence of its power is growing.
Under an NIH grant, Sheila Murphy and her team at the University of Southern California found that stories can impact knowledge and attitudes about health and preventive
behavior more than facts and figures.
Drs. Zachary Meisel and Jason Karlawish from Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine report that stories can help translate data and promote evidence-based practices and policies, along with changing health behavior.
Building Engagement and Trust
Great health and healthcare stories have “characters” (patients) people can identify with. Stories are emotional and motivating. They help health and healthcare organizations engage their audiences and earn their trust.
Ways to use
stories in health and healthcare include:
- Newsletter and magazine stories (print or online)
- Blog posts
- Web pages for hospital or
medical practice service lines
- Annual reports.
Excerpts from stories often work well as testimonials on websites, in social media, and in print publications.
Resources