Writing with Ev--words to transform science into action.

Centered around his landmark book Diffusion of Innovations, Everett Rogers contributed to the professional literature in a number of fields for more than 40 years. In this article, four of his writing partners briefly examine his impact in the fields of diffusion theory, health communication, and entertainment-education, and in particular his impact on us as writers, as professionals, and as human beings. This is not an analytic review or a comprehensive summary of the man’s body of work. That’s been done, including in a prior special issue of the Journal of Health Communication, and will doubtless be done for years to come by scholars and doctoral students. What follows is more a set of personal reflections, with an emphasis on writing that may be particularly appropriate in a journal devoted to health communication, since so much of effective communication begins with the written word. Ev Rogers wrote a lot—36 books and more than 350 refereed journal articles and book chapters, by one recent count. And he wrote in a very distinctive style, blending crisp statements of science and theory with lively, real-world examples, such as the vivid cases that enliven the pages of Diffusion of Innovations. This tactic reflected one of the basic principles of effective diffusion in his own science-based theory on the subject, that people need to feel information is relevant to their lives, and be motivated emotionally to grasp its significance, in order for science to get transformed into action. Ev also used summaries, lists of principles, and graphical charts to illustrate and bring together the main points he was making in his writing. For those who have either read his works or written with him, this diffusion-oriented writing style helps get the material across persuasively. And this approach has helped shape the writing styles of each of the authors of this article in significant ways. In effect, Ev’s writing style created a kind of ‘‘lattice work’’ in which theory, research, and the real world of practical examples and interventions all are related. The common framework was his fundamental interest in how ideas lead to action. What’s equally remarkable is that his scholarship and influence ranged over such a broad set of topics. Here we talk about the impact of his writing on (a) diffusion of innovations—variously referred to as dissemination, knowledge utilization, and technology transfer; (b) health communication; and (c) a specific subset of health Journal of Health Communication, 10:289–302, 2005 Copyright # Taylor & Francis Inc. ISSN: 1081-0730 print/1087-0415 online DOI: 10.1080/10810730590949996