I was never the type of student who knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. My love for calculus and physics in high school drew me to STEM (i.e. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), but choosing a college major within STEM as an 18-year-old felt impossible. I attempted to learn about different STEM careers by speaking with my parents, their friends, and teachers but I often didn’t understand most of what they said. Too timid to ask for clarification, I silently nodded my head as if I did. Truthfully, it took me until the age of 25 to learn what career I wanted to pursue, biomechanical engineering. Reflecting why it took me so long to figure out my future, I noticed how few people in STEM invest time into communication training (especially in academia). As a result, professionals explaining their science aren’t understood and students wanting to enter STEM fields lack a clear vision of what their future entails. My experience as an early career changer fostered my interest in science communication so that I can clearly convey my science to anyone and be a better mentor to young students searching for the right career fit.
What is scicom?
Science communication, abbreviated scicom, involves communicating a technical concept. When referring to scicom, the go-to application I hear most often is science policy. After all, communicating science to policymakers is extremely important, but there are many other applications which deserve equal attention. In academia, scicom takes the form of grant writing to acquire research funding. In industry, scicom is used to collaborate among cross-functional teams during product development. In the non-profit and education sector, scicom is used for fundraising, community engagement, and STEM initiatives. Scicom is used to pitch start-up ideas to investors, to recruit patients for clinical trials, and to train staff or students on new projects. Simply put, scicom is communication and it appears in every facet of our lives.
Because the application of scicom is so ubiquitous, I wanted to create a brief overview of scicom basics and ways to get started for undergraduates, graduate students, and academic/industry professionals who have an interest in sharpening their scicom skills. In this article, I use the term ‘scicom’ in its broadest sense, i.e., all forms of science communication both formal or informal and technical or non-technical. I will mostly be referring to verbal rather than written communication, but the concepts are relevant to either application. So without further ado, let’s start with the basics.
Scicom Basics
So, you’re ready to communicate your science, in whatever context that may be! Regardless of the application, the framework for science communication is as follows:
Audience: Prior to crafting your message (i.e. see last stage), you need to know who your message is for. This is because, although what you say is important, how you say it is more important. Think about the field of biomechanics for example. We are a diverse group of individuals with interests including sports, neuropathology, mechanobiology, and more! Identifying your intended audience will clarify what language should and should not be used when crafting your message.
Goals: Brainstorm your top 1-3 goals. For example, the goals of this article are to demonstrate the universality of scicom, highlight its various applications, and provide resources that have helped grow my skills as a scientific communicator so you can do the same. Identifying clear goals will allow you to craft a clearer message.
Message: Once you have identified your audience and goals (check and check) you are ready to craft your message. While writing your message, continue to keep your audience and goals in mind. A few helpful tips while crafting your message are:
Hook your audience with relatable facts
Tell a story
Use analogies to make complex ideas more tangible
Get Started
The purpose of this final section is to provide specific ways to initiate your training in scicom. Below are several examples to help you transition from scicom newbie to advanced communicator.
Practice with others: Believe it or not, scicom is a skill, so the more you practice, the better you will be at communicating with different audiences.
Practice talking about your research with non-technical audiences (i.e. family, friends, neighbors).
Practice talking about your research with technical personnel who aren’t directly in your field but may be in an adjacent field of work.
Practice on your own:
Rethink Your Terminology: Make a list of technical jargon you use daily within your field. Create columns representative of different potential audiences you may encounter. Re-write each term such that it is appropriate for the corresponding audience. This exercise requires you to infer what terms your audience will and will not understand, which will be challenging initially. However, you can always update your list as you get feedback from the conversations you have when practicing with others. When in doubt, always use simpler terminology.
Example list of technical jargon for an audience of high school biology students:
Terms | Audience: High School Biology Students |
Biplanar x-ray imaging | A method in which two x-ray images are acquired at the same time from two different viewpoints |
Radiopaque material | A material that is visible in x-ray images, such as metal |
Trabecular bone | A type of bone which contains holes and looks like a sponge |
Tibial baseplate | A metal part implanted in the body during knee replacement surgery that is fixed to the shin bone |
Half-life Your Message: This is a simple exercise that requires you to say your message in 60 seconds, then repeatedly revise your message such that it can be said in 30 seconds, 15 seconds, and lastly in 8 seconds. It’s a fun Improv-like game that doesn’t require prior preparation and will help you distill your message down to its core.
Attend workshops
At Your University: If you are a student, then chances are that there are valuable courses or workshops you can access right under your nose. Unfortunately, many technical fields don’t include scicom/writing courses as elective courses for credit toward your degree, but these courses are extremely useful to take anyway. Alternatively, scicom workshops are a time-efficient way to gain useful information when you may not have time to dedicate to a full course.
At Conferences: Both students and professionals can benefit from workshops held at conferences geared toward scicom. Generally these workshops are included in the conference registration fee so take advantage and plan on attending a few to boost your scicom skills.
Online: Although it might seem obvious, you can find a plethora of resources online for FREE! Finding these resources requires a little legwork, but they are totally worth it. For example, iBiology offers a free 5-week course titled, “Share Your Research: How to Give a Good Talk”. If you have found other resources worth sharing, please include them in the comments.
Put your scicom skills to the test!
Enroll in a 3-minute thesis competition: If you are a student, the 3-minute thesis (abbreviated 3MT) is the perfect opportunity to try out your new scicom skills. The competition requires you to convey your research to a general audience in under 3 minutes. In essence, this competition allows you to craft a simple elevator pitch about your research that you can use over and over again. A bonus is that 3MT’s are very popular so you can find them at most conferences or within your local university and continue refining your talk as your skills improve.
Host an event on National Biomechanics Day: Students and professionals can partake in National Biomechanics Day (NBD), an initiative to share biomechanics research with high school students. NBD provides an opportunity to showcase the field of biomechanics through engaging talks and interactive activities. The important thing is to make your science relatable to your target audience who are often high school students.
Additional science policy resources
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has a 3-day graduate workshop about science policy and science advocacy. When in-person, this workshop provides the opportunity to visit the Capitol and meet with state congressman to advocate for science funding.
The National Science Policy Network (NSPN) is a student-led organization for students to interact and network with other students interested in science policy. In addition to their annual conference, NSPN can provide a multitude of resources for students who want to get involved in science policy.
The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering also has extensive resources for students, postdocs, and faculty who want to get involved in science policy.
Fellowship Opportunities:
The American Association for the Advancement of Science - Science & Technology Policy Fellowships (for graduated PhDs or Postdocs)
The California Council on Science and Technology Fellowship Program (for graduating PhDs)
The National Academies - The Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program (for active PhD students, you take a semester leave from your graduate studies for this one!)
The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Scholars Program (for postdocs)
I hope this article has provided you with a newfound excitement for science communication and has inspired you to enhance your skills as a science communicator regardless of your current role. The value of scicom is truly indispensable and the applications are endless!
About the author:
Abby is a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis. Her doctoral work focuses on understanding what patient and surgical factors affect patient satisfaction and implant longevity after total knee replacement surgery. Abby was a Finalist in the 2021 UC Davis Grad Slam, an annual contest in which master’s and Ph.D. students across UC campuses compete to sum up their research for a general audience in under three minutes. Watch her presentation here!