My wife and I attended a piano concert this week. Before the pianist would play a piece, he would give some background on the composer and the meaning behind the composition.

It was amazing how knowing the background of Debussy’s General Lavine made it more meaningful. Otherwise, I would have simply considered it a pretty arrangement of notes. Especially since I barely knew who Debussy was, let alone General Lavine (a popular turn of 20th century American juggler).

A big part of communicating effectively is in conveying context. But we tend to do one of two things:

1. Assume everyone knows the context.

2. Communicate context in static, drawn out, boring, and generally uninteresting ways.

If people do know the context, then reiterating it in a creative way will only reinforce your message.

Though context surrounds your message, do not marginalize it.