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Theme Machine
Every Tuesday, The Productive Disruptive delivers storytelling science, message makeovers, cultural commentary, and a little rebellious hope for anyone still stubborn enough to believe communication can change the world.
Dorian Johnson
September 29, 2026
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Yesterday, I helped lead a youth summit for 7th and 8th graders focused on vaping prevention.
Three community organizations were involved, each contributing a workshop. We had three different topics.
I led a workshop on peer education. Another group was helping students create PSAs. Another was teaching students how to work through the right channels and power structures when they want something addressed.
Pretty good.
But as we planned the summit, I didn't want it to feel like three separate workshops that just happened to take place in the same building.
So I proposed:
“You know what I feel connects all of these workshops and could make this more cohesive?”
Give it a theme.
Advocacy.
A PSA gives young people a way to communicate a message and influence others.
Peer education gives them tools to educate, organize, and bring other people along.
Understanding how systems work helps them figure out who has the power to address a problem and how to reach them.
Different topics. Same theme, and hey, advocacy is a national health education standard, so why not align to that too?
Once we named it, the bigger picture became much clearer.
And that's what got me thinking about stories.
Think about a story you've told recently.
Maybe it was in a presentation, a social media post, a meeting, or even a conversation.
You probably know what happened.
But do you know what you wanted someone to take away?
That's where your theme comes in.
🧠 Story Science Side Note:
Remember learning about “theme” in English class?
One book I remember reading in high school was Frankenstein.
The topic might be a scientist creating life. But what is the story saying about ambition, responsibility, isolation, or the consequences of our choices?
That's where we get into theme.
A topic tells us what a story is about. A theme helps us understand what the story is saying about it.
Research on narrative comprehension also suggests that as we follow a story, we build a “situation model,” connecting information across the story to form a larger understanding of what's happening.
In other words, we're already trying to connect the dots.
Your theme helps people see the bigger picture.
📝 Message Makeover:
Topic: Workplace burnout
Theme: If more workers are burned out than thriving, what does that tell us about the state of work itself?
The makeover: Now the story isn't simply about burnout. It's using burnout to explore something larger
A topic gives you something to talk about. A theme gives you something to say about it.
🛠️ The PHacilitator’s Corner:
Write down the major pieces you want to include for your next story.
Then finish these two sentences:
This is a story about __________.
But what I really want people to leave thinking about is __________.
The first can help you identify your topic.
The second can get you closer to your theme.
Then look back at the pieces of your story and ask:
How is this helping my audience understand that theme?
You can't completely control what someone takes away from your story. People bring their own experiences, beliefs, and interpretations.
But you can be intentional about the path you build for them.
PS: To any and all of my public health friends, the DeBeaumont Foundation launched Talking Health, a free asynchronous course based on their bestselling book, Talking Health: A New Way to Communicate About Public Health
And I was a contributing partner to the course! If you(or someone you know might be interested, enrollment is at the link below.
