Content versus Message
In Emotional Structure: A Guide for Screenwriters, Peter Dunne makes an interesting distinction. He writes: “The plot provides the action: the film’s motion. And the story provides the reaction: the film’s emotion.”
Plot is what happens to the main character. Story is what the character becomes as a result.
GI Joe Cast
Action movies — think Transformers, GI Joe, X-Men — are heavy on plot. One action careens into another, sometimes logically, sometimes not. The characters may or may not change, but whatever change they do make is relatively minor and always subordinate to the action.
I make a similar distinction. I think that a speech’s content is its information and ideas: what the speech is about. And its message is what the content means: how the information ties together in a way that the audience can understand and use.
Technical presentations can be a lot like action movies. They are often heavy on content: more PowerPoint slides that can possibly be adequately addressed in the time available and — always — too much information for the audience to understand and absorb. Too often the message, if there is one, gets overwhelmed by the content. How many times have you walked away from a presentation wondering what it was about?
You — and your audience — should be able to sum up your message in one sentence. The content is there to substantiate, illustrate, or explain your message.
What do you think?
January 4th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
What a great distinction. I think you’re right on point that the message is what makes the content meaningful to the audience. So many presenters overlook this and believe if they have enough content (aka PowerPoint slides), their audience will “get it” and they will have done their job. What an opportunity they’re missing to really communicate what’s important in a way that sticks!
January 4th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Kathy,
Thanks for your comments. I agree wholeheartedly. Way too many presenters miss out, thinking that communicating a lot of information is the same as helping the audience understand something that will benefit them.
Chris