Recently in Communicating science Category

I have not been able to attend previous ScienceOnline events, and I probably won't be able to make it in 2014 either. But I just sent in my $20.14, and I encourage you to donate too. Click on the image above to make your donation now, or read what Karyn Traphagen has to say about the campaign.

As a young nonprofit, we are charged with demonstrating broad public support for our organization so that we can maintain our 501(c)(3) status. So, in addition to seeking larger individual donations, and applying for grants, we need donations from a broad donor base. Here's how we can do that. We are asking for donations of $20.14 from 2,014 individuals before the beginning of the year 2014. Will you be one of the 2,014? (more)

HT; @mistersugar http://mistersugar.com/2013/04/26/pledge-week-please-give-2014-to-scienceonline

Sean Carroll points out that there's a workshop on science communication for graduate students. And it's run by some of the graduate students who run astrobites and chembites, two sites that provide summaries of new research.¹ Communicating Science 2013 looks like a great workshop. Head over and put yourself on the mailing list for more information if you're interested.

Here's some information about the workshop from the introductory web page:

Communicating Science is a workshop organized by graduate students for graduate students focused on science communication skills. The workshop will emphasize written communication in particular and be held from Thursday, June 13, 2013 until Saturday, June 15, 2013 in Cambridge, MA. We welcome applications from science graduate students interested in learning how to effectively communicate their research to both scientific and non-scientific audiences.

The 2.5 day workshop will feature panels by science and communications experts, writing workshops, and numerous opportunities to interact directly with the expert panelists. As part of the workshop, attendees will draft science compositions and receive feedback from the experts and other attendees.

Funding is available to support travel expenses, lodging, and meals for a limited number of attendees; all interested science and engineering students nationwide are encouraged to apply. 

If you have any questions about the workshop, please contact us at ComSciCon@gmail.com.

Last July, I posted my Fynbos Forum presentation to Slideshare. Since Figshare just added a Presentation type to its document categories, I've uploaded another copy there. Now I have a DOI to go with my presentation. The disadvantage of Figshare is that you can't view my presentation on-line, but you can download the PowerPoint file. The advantage is that because of the DOI, if you happen to refer to the presentation in something you do, you now have a stable, permanent way to refer to it.

http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.97991

If you read this blog regularly, I just discovered another blog you'll want to keep an eye on -- Inspiring Science. It's written by Seeder El-Showk, a Ph.D. student at the University of Helsinki. From his about this blog page:

Like many professionals, scientists are trained to communicate in a particular way. This isn't a bad thing - on the contrary, it's important and extremely useful. An insistence on precision, a specialized vocabulary and a defined format of communication help maintain the smooth flow of information which is (or should be) at the heart of the scientific endeavour. Unfortunately, the ability to communicate with other scientists doesn't necessarily translate into good public communications skills. While many scientists have those skills, there are many, many more who lack them. Communicating with the public is simply not part of the standard scientific education, which creates a gap between research scientists and the rest of society. This blog is my way of trying to help fill that gap.

I've only read a couple of posts so far, but I'd say that he's filling that gap pretty well. Please head over and see for yourself.

Related articles

• Some Thoughts on Facilitating Science Communication by Scientists (scilogs.com)

Tim Radford worked for The Guardian for 32 years. He is a four-time winner of the science writer of the year award from the British Association of Science Writers. Now you can "attend" a masterclass with Tim, in which he shares his insights into how to tell a story about science.

I'm not a journalist and I'm a rank amateur in science communication. I'd probably get a lot better quickly if I attended conferences like ScienceWriters 2012 (October 26-30, Research Triangle, NC) and ScienceOnline 2013 (January 30 - February 2, 2013, Raleigh, NC). Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find the time.¹

Fortunately, many of the resources used at those conferences are available on-line. One I just learned of yesterday looks as if it could be particularly valuable: Managing the deluge. It's a wiki set up to help science journalists and science communicators manage the enormous amount of information that flows through Twitter and other social media outlets. I manage, but I don't manage well. I plan to stop in occasionally to pick up some pointers. If you're reading this, you will probably want to stop by too.

Hat tip: Emily Willingham (@ejwillingham)

Via Maria Popova at Brainpickings, 5 things presenters need to know about people.

5 Things Every Presenter Needs To Know About People from Weinschenk on Vimeo.

Popova summarizes the points very nicely.

1. People learn best in 20-minute chunks. There must be a reason for the successful TED-sized talk format.
2. Multiple sensory channels compete. During a talk, you engage both the auditory and visual channels -- because we're visual creatures and the visual channel trumps the auditory, make sure your slides don't require people to read much or otherwise distract from the talk.
3. What you say is only one part of your presentation. Paralinguistics explores how information is communicated beyond words -- be aware the audience is responding to your body language and tone. Record yourself presenting to get a feel for those and adjust accordingly.
4. If you want people to act, you have to call them to action. At the end of your presentation, be very specific about exactly what you would like your audience to do.
5. People imitate your emotions and feel your feelings. If you're passionate about your topic, this excitement will be contagious for the audience. Don't hold back.

We can change the world. Bill Nye, David Attenborough, Richard Alley and Isaac Asimov in Our biggest challenge, "a musical investigation into the causes and effects of global climate change and our opportunities to use science to offset it" (from Symphony of Science).



Hat tip: Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media.

Deanna Gagne is a graduate student in Psychology at the University of Connecticut. She is also the recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Recently, GRFP fellows were invited to submit videos to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the program. Here's the video Deanna submitted. Please watch. You're likely to learn something new. I did.

If you follow discussions about climate science on the web, you've undoubtedly run across Joe Romm.

Joe Romm is a Fellow at American Progress and is the editor of Climate Progress, which New York Times columnist Tom Friedman called "the indispensable blog" and Time magazine named one of the 25 "Best Blogs of 2010." In 2009, Rolling Stone put Romm #88 on its list of 100 "people who are reinventing America." Time named him a "Hero of the Environment" and "The Web's most influential climate-change blogger."

Romm was acting assistant secretary of energy for energy efficiency and renewable energy in 1997, where he oversaw $1 billion in R&D, demonstration, and deployment of low-carbon technology. He is a Senior Fellow at American Progress and holds a Ph.D. in physics from MIT. (from his author page at ThinkProgress)

A couple of months ago, Joe published Language Intelligence: Lessons on Persuasion from Jesus, Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Lady Gaga. While I sometimes find his approach to climate issues combative and confrontational, several people I respect write very highly of it.

• John Cook, Skeptical Science
• Michael Mann, RealClimate
• Rep. Ed Markey, HuffingtonPost¹

I now have a copy in my Kindle, and it's high on my list of things to read. I'll let you know what I think about it when I do.