Make 2017 the Year You Start Effectively Communicating your Science

There are so many excellent researchers doing important work here at DGHI and beyond, and yet that research rarely makes it way to the public. Rather, it sits on a shelf somewhere, only accessible to those with similar academic pursuits. 

To truly improve the health of individuals and communities and change policies, we, as researchers, need to learn how to get our science out there—that is, how to give the public access to the exclusive club of academia.  

But “getting your science out there” is not as simple as just telling people about your research—you need to learn to do it effectively. Just as effective communication is important for relationship building, it’s also important for promoting science. It’s key to ensuring that your audience understands, retains and acts on the information you’re presenting. Science communication should be thought of as an act of presenting science-related topics to non-experts.

To help me achieve my goal of effectively sharing my own research with the public, I recently participated in Duke Science & Society’s SciComm Fellows science communication program for faculty and postdocs. In this program, I learned about various aspects of effective science communication, including:

• Creating a memorable elevator speech 
• Making the most of media interviews
• Using social media to promote science
• Writing a compelling op-ed 

Here are my five top takeaways from the course:

1. Always be prepared to deliver your elevator speech.

The elevator speech is key to succinctly answering the common question, “What do you do?” As scientists, we often lose people about 10 seconds in as we jump right into the details of our research rather than giving a high-level overview of our work. This overview should be about 90 seconds and simple enough for any audience to understand.

To develop this summary, think about how you would explain your work to your parents or to a twelve-year old. Also consider rehearsing and updating your elevator speech periodically. Having a well-prepared elevator speech will help you effectively communicate your work even when you least expect it.

2. Tell your university and/or departmental communications team when your work is published.

When you open your email to find your paper was accepted, the first thing you should do is jump up and down. The second thing you should do is forward the email to your communications team, giving them a brief overview of your paper topic, what you found, why it matters and what’s next. They’ll consider various options for disseminating your work, which could include a press release, a newsletter story or social media distribution, to name a few.

Ask the journal contact for the publication date so you and your communications team can be prepared. The sooner they know about your publication, the better. 

3. Get comfortable in front of the camera or on the radio.

The first time I did an on-camera interview, I was a postdoc here at DGHI and had just published a paper on a popular topic: text messaging for weight loss. The day my paper was published, I found myself in front of a camera in the Duke media studio while a CBS reporter asked me questions in my earpiece. I don’t think I did too bad a job for my first time out of the gate—I’ll let you be the judge—but I would’ve done better if I’d known these tips:  

• Write out your talking points ahead of time. Aim for three to five simple, bulleted points. Focus on what you found in your research, why it matters and what you will do next as a result of what you found. When discussing study logistics, keep it simple and don’t use fancy statistics or jargon (the lay public doesn’t know how to interpret the meaning of a confidence interval). There is always uncertainty in science, but interviews are not a place to get into minutiae. 
• When being interviewed on camera with the reporter present, always look at the interviewer--not the camera. 
• When responding to a question, repeat the question in your answer. Often, the media outlet shares only snippets of your responses, not what the reporter asked.

4. Use social media.

If the United States President-elect can use Twitter to promote his cabinet picks, you can use social media to promote your science. Use your personal social media accounts or create separate accounts solely for work. Posts can be as simple as a link to your recently-published article or your thoughts about a new trend that is related to your work.

When sharing your publications on social media, it’s best to highlight a key finding or noteworthy point from the article to entice people to click on the link. On Twitter, engage with other researchers and professionals in your field. 

5. Look for alternative ways—such as op-eds—to discuss your science.

Writing op-eds are a great way to promote evidence-based research. An op-ed is not an overview of a particular study; it’s a commentary on a current event or topic based on research you’ve conducted.

For example, the November-December holidays are a great time to talk about evidence-based weight loss strategies—a topic of high interest to the public that’s directly related to my work. In fact, while writing this article, I received an email from a reporter interested in my work on daily self-weighing and weight loss. I have yet to write an op-ed, but when I do, here are the tips I’ll follow: 

• Track the news and look for opportunities to connect current events with your research.
• Make a single point really well and tell readers why they should care. Don’t try to cover too much ground. Stay within about 750 words.
• Try to show rather than tell. People remember stories and simple, compelling statistics, so use these elements to illustrate your point.
• Introduce the piece in a way that will grab your readers. Begin with a story or describe an evocative scenario. Similarly, close with a statement or short paragraph that will reinforce your main message and stick with the reader. 
• Get personal. Embrace your own voice (remember, this is an opinion piece!) and try to establish a personal connection with your readers. 
• Offer specific recommendations. Don’t just identify the problem or say “more research is necessary.”
• Avoid tedious rebuttals, jargon, references and footnotes.

The bottom line? Get your science out there. 

Many of us feel like we’re bragging when we talk about our work. But I believe it’s our duty as researchers to ensure that our work reaches beyond the ivory tower. How else will good science influence popular opinion and lead to evidence-based policies that enhance people’s lives?

Dr. Steinberg is supported by the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) Career Development award (K12HD043446-15).