Why People Crave Stories and Other Insights from Lori De Milto Writer for Rent LLC

Published: Wed, 03/29/17

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Writing Right
Insights on engaging, informing, and motivating your target audiences
Spring 2017
 
Why People Crave Stories
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

Sheila Murphy, “Stories Are Better Than Lectures at Teaching Us About Health,” U.S. News & World Report, March 2017. 

Zachary F. Meisel and Jason Karlawish. “Narrative vs. Evidence-Based Medicine— And, Not Or,” JAMA, 2011.

 
Grit: The Key to Success 
Remember how Charlie Brown kept trying to kick that football, even though Lucy pulled it away from him every time? Charlie Brown never gave up. He had grit—also called determination or mental toughness.

“. . . grit is holding steadfast to that goal. Even when you fall down. Even when you screw up. Even when progress toward that goal is halting or slow,” says Angela Duckworth, author of the New York Times Bestseller “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.”

Compared to others, Duckworth’s research shows that people with grit:
  • Work harder to achieve goals
  • Are happier
  • Tend to be optimistic
  • Are more resilient.
Brains account for less than 30% of what we achieve, says James Clear in his report on “The Science of Developing Mental Toughness in Your Health, Work, and Life.” The good news is that anyone can grow grit, say both Clear and Duckworth.

Read more, and get tips on growing grit in:  


 
Recent and Current Projects
Some of my recent/current work:

Projects with Patient Stories 
Other Projects
  • A story on pediatric clinical research
  • Web content for a clinical trial recruitment company 
  • Educational materials on clinical trials
 
Professional Notes ​​​​​​​ 
Freelance Workshop, American Medical Writers Association-Delaware Valley Chapter
I gave a presentation on “The Easiest, Most Effective Ways to Get the Clients You Deserve” and was a panelist on an interactive problem-solving panel for experienced freelancers (March 2017)
 
Sailing Away (Out-of-the-Office) 
June 15 to July 1:
​​​​​​​Out-of-the-office on vacation 
We’re sailing from England across the Arctic Circle in the path of the Vikings to Norway, with stops in Scotland’s remote Shetland and Orkney Islands.
 
Get Targeted Medical Content
Lori De Milto writes targeted medical content to engage, inform, and motivate patients, consumers, healthcare professionals, and others.    

Contact me 
Lori De Milto Writer for Rent LLC 
WriterforRent.net 
[email protected]
856-232-6821

Writing Right is published twice a year.  
 
Lori De Milto Writer for Rent LLC | Sicklerville, NJ | 856-232-6821
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