Engagement strategies on medical YouTube channels

Abstract

The study focuses on the strategies of engagement employed by medical doctors in YouTube videos. The goal of the analysis is to investigate multimodal strategies used in selected videos on the most popular medical YouTube channels in Poland. The study is conducted against a theoretical background that considers previous research on engagement strategies in science and popularization discourse (Hyland 2010; Luzón 2015, 2019; Sokół 2018). Engagement strategies involving reader pronouns, directives, questions, shared knowledge as well as humour, expression of opinions and emotions are investigated, as well as headings, visuals and music. The analysis reveals that medical doctors employ a vast array of diverse engagement strategies which do not form a unified set of practices across the channels. The differences concern the frequency and type of strategies, such as the use of headings, visuals, special effects and music. The study also reveals considerable differences between the videos as to the degree to which the authors exploit the affordances of the audio-visual medium. The formats of the videos comprise both the more traditional, such as slides with a voice-over, as well as more novel approaches, such as presentation films. The strategies employed show that the authors attempt to form a distinctive and recognizable style of interaction with the audience.