Got a complex topic to pitch? Write a book!

A new friend sent me his white paper about an astonishing, world-changing invention. The white paper is nicely done; the writing is great, and it’s full of good illustrations. The invention is truly significant.

But most people won’t read the white paper. Why? Because it’s a white paper, redounding in detail.

Even people in the field need a context, a reason to add to their daily reading burden, and they need it fast. They don’t get one from this white paper.

Eli Goldratt, a brilliant inventor in the field of manufacturing operations, faced a similar challenge when he was promoting his nine-dimensional-math-based software solution to factory scheduling problems. The people who really stood to gain from the software could not even understand that he was addressing their problem.

So with Jeff Cox, he wrote a novel: “The Goal.” (Recommended reading, even if you are not in manufacturing.) The book brought all of the abstruse issues down to earth, in the context of a page-turner of a novel.

If you have a complex, technical story to tell, and are having trouble getting people to listen, consider contextualizing it as a human story, with real emotions, a plot line–and a believable ending.