Science Is Exciting

Title page here
(If you want it to be)

July 20, 2010

Communication skills: required
About Resource Media
• Communications Strategy
• Media Outreach Campaigns
• Environmental and Health Policy
Focus
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Staff

Offices

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Communications
Planning
Workbook
What are your biggest challenges in
communicating science?
Overview
Why science matters
Your message
Messengers
Reaching out: audiences
Why science matters
Real stories and consequences
Simplify
…does NOT mean
“dumb it down.”
Embrace
simplicity
Your Message
 What’s new?
Your
What’s the key point?
Message
Why is it important?

Why do we care?
 An effective message answers three
questions:

What is the threat?

What values are at stake?

What is the solution?

Make the human connection

What moves your audience?

- Security
- Independence
- Stewardship
- Freedom
Making your message work

• Clean water means healthy communities and

a healthy economy. [value]

• Oil spill disasters will only continue to threaten

wildlife, jobs and our energy security. [threat]

• Clean energy is cheap, available and safe,

and it doesn’t spill anything. [solution]
Translate
Your
Findings
Remember your audience
Instead of leading with process…...
Estimates based on the Intergovernmental 
Panel on Climate Change business‐as‐
usual emission scenarios suggest that 
atmospheric CO2 levels could approach 
800 ppm near the end of the century, and  
corresponding biogeochemical models 
indicate that surface water pH will drop 
from a pre‐industrial value of about 8.2 to 
about 7.8.
…talk results

Ocean acidification eats away at coral

reefs, interferes with some fish species’
ability to find their homes and can hurt
commercial shellfish -- like mussels and
oysters -- and keep them from properly
forming their protective shells.
Use anecdotes

My grandfather
described salmon runs
so big that you could
walk across the river
without getting your
feet wet.
The power of analogies
It’s junk food for fish…like expecting a
teenager to grow by just eating
marshmallows.
Make statistics meaningful: Do the math
Paint a picture
Cutting down the rain forest for
money is like burning a Rembrandt to
cook soup.

Make yourself quotable

“ There’s a limit to the
amount of heat-trapping
gases you can put into
the atmosphere before
Mother Nature shows
you what the climate
system will do. And
Mother Nature bats last.
”
Richard Somerville, ABC News, December 2009
Messengers
Scientists = Credible

University scientists are

highly believable,
respected and credible.
Scientists as
Spokespeople
Two-thirds of Americans
hold scientists in high
regard
Your audience
Reporters
Supporters
Decisionmakers
 Scientists are credible.
But are they relatable? Accessible?
 College-educated

Inquisitive
Reporters
Skeptical

Mostly generalists

Overworked
What reporters want
Something new

Something interesting

Something moving

Something easily
understandable
 Speak less – listen more.

During the Assume everything is “on the

record” and usable in a story.
conversation Refer to your notes; stick to
your key points.

Preempt opposing points.

Suggest more resources.

Ask to check your own quotes

before publication.
Your supporters
Engaging decisionmakers
 Preparation is key

• Take the time to translate findings – and don’t

hesitate to ask for help.
• Practice with a non-scientist friend.
• Keep a cheat sheet with your key messages
with you or by the phone.
• Have resources available with additional
information.
Your message:
Potential roadblocks
Make sure to craft key points; don’t bury what’s important
Focus on what you know; avoid leading
with what you don’t know
Don’t assume a higher level of scientific knowledge
Don’t forget to provide the right context
Talk more about outcome and less about process
Avoid jargon,
acronyms and
words that mean
different things to
non-scientists
Words with multiple meanings

Source: Hassol, S.J., Eos, 2008 March 11

Characteristics
of a good
presenter
“ If anyone was waiting to find
out whether Antarctica would
respond quickly to climate
warming, I think the answer
is yes. We've seen 150 miles
of coastline change

Ted Scambos,
University of Colorado,
”
drastically in just 15 years.

Newsday, September 2004

“ The numbers are crystal
clear. The analysis is
impeccable. There is no
uncertainty about this.
Peter Brewer
”
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute,
San Jose
Mercury News, July 2004
 Connect to your
audience’s values.

Use plain English.

Talk more about what

Remember you know, less about
what you don’t.

Use metaphors,
imagery and stories.

Practice.
Explore More RM Trainings
• Social Media 201 – August
• Framing & Messaging – September
• Media Relations – October
• Story Pitching – November
• Blogger Relations – December
To learn more:
Jillian Ward
Program Director
Resource Media
jillian@resource-media.org
415-397-5000 ext. 309

Belinda Griswold
Program Director
Resource Media
belinda@resource-media.org
206-374-7795 ext. 101