I just returned from performing on the “Best of Canada” show in Buffalo.  It was a blast… and a great time to connect with colleges on the show.  Another magician and good friend and I were discussing magic on television.  We agreed that magic and illusion was much better live than on T.V.  Why is that?

I believe that it is because different mediums have different capacities.  Television is a light and airy medium.  While it can carry ideas easily, it can’t support the “weight” of some messages.  In the case of magic, it is difficult to create an atmosphere that suspends disbelief when the audience can change the channel.  That has lead to a very sensational version of the art, where an illusion is shown with the punchline first.

I felt the same with the new Harry Potter movie.  Saw it on the weekend… and yes I’m a fan of the series.  (You have to exercise your inner geek or it will get angry and you will wake up one morning dressed as a storm-trooper!  … Ok that was pretty geeky too.) 

I digress… saw the movie, and I did like it… but didn’t love it.  I loved the books.  The books could deal with a rich story filled with subtleties and details.  Plot points don’t just travel in a straight line but lead the reader on a fantastical journey.  Along that journey many great messages are transmitted to the reader.  The movie just can’t accomplish this in the same way.  Yes the movie was stunning visually, and did well to communicate emotion… but it wasn’t the same.  The written word is a much more stable medium that can carry the weight of more complex messages.

There are draw backs to this type of medium.  It takes allot more time to navigate the much denser medium of the written word.  In our society of shortened attention spans this can be a problem.  The medium also takes more effort.  Images relate one to one… where there may be a word that you don’t understand and need to define.

So I’m not saying that one medium is better than another…

I am saying that each medium has an affect on a message.  It is up to each of us to determine which medium “holds” the weight of our message, while delivering it in the most efficient way possible.

So we talked about the steak (the message), and we will get to the sizzle… but today…  medium well.

The medium is usually the least thought about of the three M’s.  It is usually inherited, or the simplest or the most cost effective.  Sometimes the choice is made to upgrade the medium, but even that is usually not an intentional decision.  It is most often the desire to amplify the sizzle.  So we upgrade from paper to digital, from stage to the screen because the assumption is that the bigger the medium, the better.

The thing is each medium has its own advantages and drawbacks.  Sending a letter may be slow and less visual, but it has the potential of being extremely personal.  Creating a piece for the television may be flashy and impressive, but may lose some of the elements essential to dialogue.  Which brings me to an observation:

The more obvious the medium, the more the story must be scripted.  That is, a medium like television does not leave much for the imagination.  We see a direct representation of the message.  Therefore, the story must be told with absolute intentionality to get the point across.  At the same time, television leaves very little to the imagination.  Boy kisses girl… you see it.  Bad guy’s vehicle goes boom… good guy wins.  You get it…  That isn’t to say there isn’t art in film and television, just that the process of dialogue is removed by several steps.  This absolutely affects how the message is perceived and interacted with. 

I am a personal fan of the stage… for obvious reasons.  I have found it to have most of the advantages of the screen, with fewer drawbacks.  Specifically, the stage is temporal.  That is, a play, or an act or a speech exists as a onetime experience in dialogue.  While there is a presentation, the recipients are present and able to interact with the message.  At the same time, the medium is formal, and does not usually allow for disordered dialogue. 

My purpose today is not to talk about every known medium, but I would like to address the medium of digital communication… specifically email and the like.  It wasn’t long ago that the inter office memo was the main form of communication in the towers across North America.  It was a medium that conjured up thoughts and feelings even before the recipient read the content.  It is the same for email, and text, and all other digital mediums.  We already have pre-conceived ideas about a message when we receive it on our blackberry, or computer, or iphone or what have you.  The medium affects the message.  Try send the same message to yourself by email, text, phone, and paper letter and see how the experience of the message changes.

There will be more on this down the road.  For today… medium affects the message.  In some cases it can even define the message.  It is not only important to know what you are communicating, but through what you are communicating.  But in the spirit of this blog… I think I need a steak for lunch… medium well.

The three M’s are a basic premise of communication.  If you have taken a journalism class or the like you have probably learned about medium, method and message.  The M’s may seem simple, but they are anything but elementary.

In fact, these three building blocks are the essence of good communication and good show business.  In the next few blogs I am going to share some thoughts “from the trenches” on the MMMs.

First… and most important… message.

Ok, seriously, do you think about your message.  When you write an email, hold an event or whatever?  Being intentional about our message is arduous, difficult, time consuming and absolutely the best thing we can do when planning to communicate.  So many events, shows, memos are generated with a lack of clear message and then affect… nothing!

If the advertising game has taught us nothing else, it is that the human mind needs constant reinforcement on a message if it is going to act on it.  And… messages need to be simple if they are expected in influence a broad audience.  So a good question to ask when planning your next communication is… what is the one thing that you would like to communicate.  Then focus on that one thing.  And so taking my own advice I end this blog… repeating… that message is the biggest M!

The phrase “All Business is Show Business” is meant to demonstrate the show biz world as a useful metaphor and at times… model.  It is not meant to trivialize any particular endeavour.  For example, a person in the medical field may make the point that their work is more important than the fun and games of the theatre.  I think they have a point.  Their work is certainly more urgent.  I have also spoken to financial institutions that were wary at first of the topic, as their work is not trivial.  Once we dialogued on the nature of the talk, and the essence of theatre they saw the value of the conversation, and we had a wonderful session.

The essence of using show business, theatre, and art as a metaphor and model for business is found in one word… story telling.  We all are telling a story.  We all need to improve on our story telling (communication) skills, and support the infrastructure, methods, and processes that enable us to tell our story.   Corporations tell thousands of “stories”, and communicate to a diverse field of recipients.  From customers, to share holders, to  employees, to suppliers… etc.  It is vital that this communication, these stories be told in a manner that is consistent, engaging and accurate.  Not just factually accurate, but emotionally accurate.  For example, if you are asking an employee to work more hours, what story are you telling them to compel cooperation?  What story are you telling your shareholders when the stocks are high… or in recent days… low?  This is not a sophist manipulation of the facts to “spin” things to what the other party wants to hear.  Rather, it is the engagement of people as holistic beings with the need to see the big picture as they participate in the details.  Let’s face it… all of us are involved with corporations or businesses because they contribute to our stories.  Therein lies the essence of good show business.  It is the ability to provide perspective on a situation, and the ability to communicate how to interact with and engage that situation from your particular vantage point.

The title of my corporate key note is “All Buisness is Show Buisness”.  Perhaps I will have to call it ”All Buisness is Showblogness!”  And so… lets begin!

The intent of this blog is to discuss items regarding corporate comunication.  I will certainly draw upon my experiences as an entertainer, but I hope to get some ideas down that speaks to the wider corporate and buisness experience.  In a sense the blog is an oportunity to discuss and think through some ideas that will hopefully contribute to an upcoming book.

So thanks for looking in… I welcome positive discussion and am looking forward to throwing out some interesting ideas!