Gene Weingarten, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his 4-8-07 article in The Washington Post called “Pearls Before Breakfast,” asked Joshua Bell, internationally acclaimed virtuoso, to perform a 43-minute program during a Friday morning rush hour in the L’Enfant Plaza subway in Washington, using his $3.5 million Stradivarius violin.
Three weeks before the subway performance, Bell performed to a standing room only crowd at the Library of Congress, and he played often at Carnegie Hall.
Did anyone stop to listen to Bell in the subway? Did people pay a fortune to hear Bell at Carnegie Hall?
The answer to question No. 1 is no. The answer to question No. 2 is yes.
What changed? Not Bell. He was the same expert in both settings. In fact, the musical pieces he performed in the subway were some of the most difficult, and he specifically chose them because he did not need an orchestra to accompany him.
What changed was the setting. It was the same content in a vastly different context. But we expect the extraordinary at Carnegie Hall. We expect the abysmal from the street performer.
As a dental professional, you must become very clear about your context. It’s every bit as vital as your content.
In fact, I will go so far as to say context is more important. Your patients expect you to be an expert. They wouldn’t be a part of your practice otherwise. But, they are driven to you by your context. Through your branding, office, website, team, and daily reputation, you create the Carnegie Hall experience, and your patients continue to have high expectations.
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ALSO BY KAREN CORTELL REISMAN:
Can Ashton Kutcher help your dental practice?
Dental marketing my mama taught me
Leading with gravitas
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Today's Speak For Yourself® Challenge is: Create “high context” in your dental practice. © Karen Cortell Reisman, M.S.
Karen Cortell Reisman, author of two books and President of Speak For Yourself®, works with organizations on how to make more money. It’s all in how you speak for yourself.
