Modernizing Scientific Storytelling for Deeper Field Medical Engagement
May 21, 2024
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Murali Gopal is the Vice President and Head of Medical Affairs at Phathom Pharmaceuticals, known for his expertise in modernizing scientific storytelling. Dave Gulezian is the Co-Founder and CEO at Alucio, contributing insights on implementation in organizations. They discuss the importance of understanding audience needs in scientific storytelling, emphasizing two-way engagement with healthcare professionals. They reveal a crucial strategy for transforming communication without requiring a budget, highlighting the shift towards more personalized narratives that improve patient care.
Modern scientific storytelling requires a two-way dialogue that understands healthcare providers' needs to convey meaningful insights effectively.
Transforming from traditional presentations to engaging storytelling necessitates a cultural commitment to flexible communication within healthcare organizations.
Deep dives
Defining Scientific Storytelling
Scientific storytelling is characterized by its personalized, engaging approach that emphasizes dialogue rather than a one-sided narrative. Effective storytelling in the medical field involves understanding the audience's needs and customizing the communication to capture their attention. This process includes both telling and listening, which helps uncover the specific needs of healthcare providers and adapt the message accordingly. It highlights the importance of conveying scientific information concisely and interestingly to ensure that it is relevant and beneficial to the recipients.
The Role of Two-Way Communication
Two-way storytelling is essential in engaging healthcare providers effectively, as it fosters a dynamic interaction between the speaker and the audience. This method requires the storyteller to be agile and responsive, often pivoting topics based on the audience's interests and questions. By understanding the daily challenges faced by healthcare professionals, medical affairs teams can present information that is not only relevant but adds value to their routine practices. The goal is to enhance communication, ensuring it feels less like a presentation and more akin to a conversation that provides meaningful insights.
Commitment to Change in Organizations
For organizations to embrace scientific storytelling effectively, there needs to be a commitment to change that starts from leadership and permeates through the entire structure. This commitment involves recognizing the need for flexibility in messaging and being willing to adapt processes and tools to meet evolving demands. Companies must prioritize developing a culture that encourages innovative approaches to communication, integrating technology and training for their teams. Addressing this need for change is considered the most significant challenge, but is crucial for progressing towards more effective storytelling in medical affairs.
Modern scientific storytelling is about more than data dissemination — it's about creating meaning for the audience, and as such (as any good bard on the stool of a Medieval tavern knows) it requires truly understanding the audience's motivations and needs. However, scientific storytelling goes further. Our goals are not fiction nor purely entertainment — it's helping HCPs and KOLs make patients lives better. Here we talk about this approach with Murali Gopal, Vice President and Head of Medical Affairs at Phathom Pharmaceuticals and Dave Gulezian, co-Founder and CEO at Alucio. And we ask what is the ONE thing a company must implement in their transformation from the 40-slide deck to modern scientific storytelling. Spoiler alert: They actually agree and it's something that doesn't require budget.
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