Blog Archives

Compassionate Science Communication—Scicomm that Cares (Part 2)

9/16/2021

By: Jennifer Ma

Last week, I talked about how Compassionate Science Communication can provide value for and have lasting impact on our audiences. It requires the communicators to first learn what our audiences care about before offering a relevant scientific perspective. How? Let’s review the steps that guide the process:

Listen: Approach our audience with curiosity—ask questions, listen, try to understand their perspectives and acknowledge where they come from without judgement. This puts us in a much better position to provide information that would actually benefit our audience.
Relate: Identify something in common so we can better empathize, speak their language, and form a genuine connection.
Inform: Offer scientific information that is relevant to their values, questions, or concerns, in a way that is accessible.
Encourage: Provide actionable points & a sense of hope, highlighting what they have to gain from the actions to motivate and empower them.

Will it be worth it? Absolutely

What these steps look like in practice depends on your platform and your audience. Let’s break them down in a case study based on Gentle Facts, a project I started in March 2020.

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Compassionate Science Communication—Scicomm that Cares (Part 1)

9/9/2021

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By: Jennifer Ma

Imagine you have been wanting a pair of orange shoes for a long time. You finally find a pair that would go perfectly with your favorite orange outfit and are feeling pretty happy after trying them on! A salesperson then approaches you and says:

You shouldn’t get those orange shoes. They don’t pair well with outfits and you can’t wear them to work. In fact, a survey says 85% of employers would not allow orange shoes at their workplaces. You would be a fool to purchase them and you should reconsider how you shop for shoes. This pair of white shoes, though, is a much better option. You should get these instead!

How likely are you to take their advice, even if they might be right?

How are you feeling? Source: Gentle Facts.

Now imagine walking into another store and this is what another salesperson says:

Those look really cute on you! Are you looking for orange shoes specifically? Oh you have an orange outfit you want to pair them with, that’s so fun! I wonder if that would be too much orange though. These white shoes may go really well with it too and there’s a study that says white shoes are the most versatile, so you can wear them all the time. What do you think?

How likely are you to listen this time?

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Back to the Lab This Fall? Don’t Forget Your SciComm Skills!

9/2/2021

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By Nidhi Parekh and Sheeva Azma

The COVID-19 pandemic taught scientists that the way in which scientists communicate science impacts global communities. Lecturers that teach science communication (also called SciComm) at various levels draw upon and recognize the importance that all forms of science communication play in society — not just in their own lives, but in their students’ lives, too.

As more people around the globe are slowly coming out of summer holidays to start school once again, we thought this would be a good time to review different ways to improve students’ SciComm skills. Keep reading for a few SciComm tips for educators to consider on the way “back to school.”

Welcome Back to School. Pixabay.

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Compassionate Science Communication—Scicomm that Cares (Part 2)

Compassionate Science Communication—Scicomm that Cares (Part 1)

Back to the Lab This Fall? Don’t Forget Your SciComm Skills!

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Compassionate Science Communication—Scicomm that Cares (Part 2)

Compassionate Science Communication—Scicomm that Cares (Part 1)

Back to the Lab This Fall? Don’t Forget Your SciComm Skills!

Categories

Pitch & Contribute

A Science BlogCo-editors

Archives

A Science Blog
Co-editors