The Two Parts of Every Communication
There are really only two parts of any piece of communication: the medium and the message.
The medium is the carrier of the message. Just as medicine can be administered by pill, capsule, I.V., or needle the medium can take many forms such as songs, blogs, web pages and lectures.
The message is the idea that is to be communicated. It is the thing that we wish to put inside of our audience where it can ripple and resonate and create new ideas and new actions.
Very important messages -the ones that pertain to life and death- often need to be delivered with the acute clarity and precision of a needle. There are no niceties – just the brutal truth that often leaves a sting.
Non emergency messages can take any number of forms -from chewable pills to healthy diets. Their effect is not as immediate or potent, but we would not want it any other way.
In the 60′s the famous Canadian philosopher, Marshal McLuhan, made the bold assertion that the medium IS the message.
In effect, this meant that people no longer cared about what you were saying so much as how you were saying it. If the message appeared to be in a syringe it must be bad. If the message was easy to swallow – it must be good.
Discriminating minds can still see the difference between medium and message HOWEVER many people cannot. If it doesn’t look good, they want nothing to do with it.
This is why it is essential that all communication be presented with the best medium available. There is no room for error or our message will not be taken in by our audience and there will be no new ideas or action.
No one likes needles... No one!