Communication with the C-Suite

Communication with the C-Suite Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of AHRMM Philadelphia, PA November 16, 2010 Thomas Skorup Vice President, Applied Solutions tskorup@ecri.org 610-825-6000 ext. 5160

Communication counts 2

When bad words happen to good people • “Devices’ sterility may be compromised as evidenced by a loss of package integrity” • (Rita Medical, October 28, 2005) • “There is a possibility that the pouch Tyvek header to foil longitudinal seal was not properly sealed, prior to sterilization. Therefore there is a potential for compromised sterility of the devices” • (Linvatec Corp, February 23, 2005) 3

When bad words happen to good people • “The calibrations on the reamers may lead to inaccurate reaming depth when used…” • (Zimmer, Inc., September 30, 2005) • “Uncommanded motion of the urological table is possible…” • (GE OEC Medical, May 12, 2003) • “Slides may exhibit random, elevated imprecision of results” • (Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, March 26, 2003) 4

Make It Stick. Memory Matters The fundamentals of effective communication. 5

What makes a message stick? • Simplicity • Unexpectedness • Concreteness • Credibility • Emotional • Stories Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (New York: Random House, Inc. 2007) 6

Simplicity • How do you strip an idea to its core without turning it into a silly sound bite? • Just Do It • It’s the economy, stupid 8

Lost In The Trees 9

Unexpectedness • How do you capture people’s attention…and hold it? 10

Change Happens 11

How many people take Lipitor? 13

Concreteness • How do you help people understand your idea and remember it much later? • Create “reader-based prose” not “writer-based” prose • Turn technical and clinical details into understandable chunks 14

How do you make statistics interesting? 15

Proton beam radiation therapy vs conventional photon beam • No appropriately designed studies completed or currently underway directly comparing the efficacy of proton therapy to other modes of radiation therapy • To date, superior comparative effectiveness of proton beam therapy has not been demonstrated • In U.S., 6 proton therapy centers are operational now, 15 by 2013 16

Credibility • How do you get people to believe your idea? 17

Emotional • How do you get people to care about your idea? • Tailor your message to your audience • Create an emotional reaction to improve impact • Create a dialogue by active listening 18

Stories • How do you get people to act on our idea? 20

What makes a message stick? • Simplicity • Unexpectedness • Concreteness • Credibility • Emotional • Stories Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (New York: Random House, Inc. 2007) 21

Five Rules to Remember • Make it quick • Keep your pyramid inverted • Make it stick • Create a memorable experience • Make it count • Create credibility • Make it clear • “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler” • Make it live • Don’t bury the lead 22

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” --Mark Twain 23

Communication with the C-Suite