There are a lot of reasons to advocate for scientists conveying the relevance and importance of their work to the public. As part of a graduate seminar this semester, we have been considering how to communicate with the public in the written form, predominately, although obviously that is just one of the many venues. And it’s hard to argue that scientists communicating with the public seems like anything but a great idea. While on the one hand, I already have more to do than I can realistically keep up with; I also have another hand which encourages me to say that it seems like it could be fun and valuable to have some sort of regular dialogue with the public. Part of my exploration of how to do this effectively and efficiently lead me to this book Escape from the Ivory Tower: A Guide to Making Your Science Matter by Nancy Baron.
Let me first say that I think the book has a lot of useful information. And then, a small protest: A lot of our science matters whether or not it is circulating the media and some of us do not want to escape the ivory tower. Actually, I’d like to get in a literal ivory tower if at all possible (I’m in a red brick building lacking towers of any sort). However, it is refreshing to step out of the figurative ivory tower to see how our research can potentially have a bigger impact on the lives of everyone, and this is not something scientists are typically trained (or, until recently, encouraged) to do.
This book gives some insight into what journalists (and the public) are looking for in a story, what sort of scientist they like to deal with, and what the journalist’s pressures are. They want a cool or surprising story from an interesting scientist who can convey information succinctly and clearly (ideally with a flourish), and quickly. No problem! There are also interesting ideas for ways that scientists can contact journalists and the media (as well as reasons for doing so) and other outlets like blogging and op-eds to get science to the public. I was especially interested in these more direct ways to communicate with the public, since they seem like they are something within our control and they could have fast turnaround time, if narrower scope (likely).
One of the big take home messages centered around “The Message Box,” which is supposed to help the scientist (or anybody) really focus in on the take home points to reduce the likelihood that we begin channeling Charlie Brown’s teacher. You use each section so that you have a couple of sentences in each block (not paragraphs, science nerds!). I liked this—it’s something you can work on before an interview or before you start writing anything to outline the major points.
Besides the message box, I picked up a few other tips, like communicating at the right time. When a certain topic hits the news, it makes journalists and the public more receptive to research or discussion related to that topic. So, be willing to be flexible and opportunistic. Another surprising idea was not to wait for journalists to contact you—feel free to contact them. If you’ve honed your message and have your major points, you may develop a collaboration that pays and gets your research out there. And be prepared to answer what the title of the article or story should be.
One venue I had not really considered was the “op-ed.” All scientists could start here with their local papers and see what happens. Here’s an example of an op-ed from 2007 by a physicist regarding the opening of the Creation “Museum” in Kentucky. An op-ed around the time of the opening of this, um, place, was the perfect opportunity to share some science. Things happen every day where we have the chance to jump in and share our voice, science, and opinion. So, let’s pay attention.
This book is a rich resource and would be handy to have in your own ivory tower for when you’re planning to meet with policy makers, journalists, or a general audience. It also gives you reasons to work on your analogies and jokes, because making science assessable and fun is the first step to getting people engaged.
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