SciComm 101: Drop the

Jargon and Find Your Story

Part I
20 June 2016
Objectives:
Understand the importance of scientific
communication
Identify and define potential audiences
Learn basic story structure and apply it to
your research

Outcome:
Complete script for a research video
Inspiration for this workshop
 What is SciComm?
the nature of expertise, the diffusion of
knowledge, and the communication of
science and technology among
professionals and to the public.

- Science Communication (journal)

Frequency of scientific communication in print

Theres no escaping it.

 Stop acting like students
Measures of success post-undergrad:
Skills and a working knowledge of your field
Competent and trustworthy
Interesting and enjoyable to work with
Broader Impacts
Advance discovery while promoting
teaching, training, and learning
Broaden participation of under-
represented groups
Benefits to society
Whats the problem?
How do we get better?
Be a better storyteller
1. Know your audience
2. Use narrative structure
3. PRACTICE
 Know your audience
How do we reach them?
What do we want them to do?
 Exercise: Define your audience
Split into groups of 3

Give each group an audience

A policymaker working on an issue related to your research
A 2nd grade class in New York City
Private residents who regularly interact with your study organism
A group that offers a research grant in your field
Other scientists in your field

What is the best way to reach your audience?

What type of media?
What type of message?
Length of message?

What do you want from your audience?

 Bridging knowledge gaps
Find a partner.

Read the scenario on the next slide.

One person will be the time traveler and the

other will be the smartphone owner. Choose
your role before reading the scenario.
Exercise: What are you really trying
to say?
Through a series of strange events, a man from
1692 appears in front of you. While traveling through
space and time, he seems to have broken his finger.
Hes being over-dramatic, wailing in pain and
causing a scene. LUCKILY youre a doctor.

Your job: convince this man to put his finger in

an x-ray machine so you can determine whether
its broken and treat it properly.

CAUTION: 1692 was the year of the Salem Witch

Trials.
Through a series of strange and unexplained
events, a man from 1692 appears in front of
you. You decide to FaceTime/Skype a friend so
that someone else can witness this. You pull
out your smart phone and make the call. The
time traveler takes one look at the screen and
screams in terror.

Why is someones head stuck in that tiny

rectangle?!

To make him stop freaking out, you need to

explain what a smartphone is and/or how
video calls work.
 Narrative structure
Narrative = Any report of connected
events presented in a sequence

1. Story: content
2. Plot: form used to tell the story
 IMRAD
Introduction
Methods
Results
And
Discussion
From Joshua Schimels Writing Science book!
 OCAR
Opening
Challenge
Action
Resolution
 OCAR
Opening -------- Introduction
Challenge ------ Introduction
Action ---------- Methods &
Results
Resolution ----- Discussion
OCAR builds up to important stuff
 LDR

Lead
Development
Resolution
LDR puts important stuff 1st
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Find your story
We have not known a single great
scientist who could not discourse freely
and interestingly with a child. Can it be
that the haters of clarity have nothing
to say, have observed nothing, have no
clear picture of even their own fields?

- John Steinbeck
 Homework
Practice talking about your research through
narrative during the open house event.

See what lands and what totally fails.

Adjust as necessary.

Get people excited!