This is the latest in the Speaker Academy series, which started here. The series is addressed to patients and advocates who basically know how to give a talk but want to make a business out of it. I’ll try to be clear to all readers, but parts may assume you’ve read earlier entries.

Several times a week  I find myself citing this tweet, from Sept. 5. That means it’s time to blog it, so I can find it when I want to.:-)

It’s by Elizabeth Bailey @PatientPOV, author of The Patient’s Checklist.

This is vital advice for patients who have a story and want to be a memorable, effective speaker. I know you want to tell your story, partly because you want others to know what you went through, partly so they can be better prepared themselves as a patient, and often because you want to raise awareness of the issues you faced. It’s important: stories evoke emotion and lead to caring. Stories connect to the base of the brain, and can be compelling.

But although a single story can be compelling, it’s not enough to create change. A single story is called an anecdote – an isolated case – and every scientist and every policy person is trained to not build policy on a single case. A foundation for change requires larger data.

I’d never heard someone connect those dots as clearly as this tweet – and that’s why I’ve been quoting this tweet so much. In my own speeches, I tell my story, and then I back it up with data:

• “If I read two articles a day, after a year I’d be 400 years behind.”
• “The lethal lag time: research doesn’t reach doctors until 2-5 years later”
• “Zero cases of ‘death by googling’ in a three year search”

Depending on the audience I’ll then pull out other facts, but those are the core. So: the basic structure of my talks is this:

1. Connect with people’s hearts with your story
2. Present facts (data) that establish “It’s not just me. This is big enough to do something about.”
3. Then you need to give them a clear sense that they can do something about it – it’s not hopeless.
   • This is vital – people hate to feel hopeless, so you have to show them a pathway to a better future, or they’ll stop thinking about you, your story, and your data … just as surely as when you cause cognitive dissonance (Speaker Academy #4).

Future posts will get into the third one. It’s important, because while #1 and #2  create the need for change, the last thing you want to do is leave the audience just feeling bad or feeling powerless.

Thank you, Elizabeth!

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Next in the series: #15: The contract