Recently I read the article "Communication: a responsibility of all scientists". As you can tell from the title, it discussed what is expected from scientists when is comes to relaying the information they develop to the public.
One of the key problems in communicating science is that half the time no one understands the words you are using. I've experienced way too many scientists/professors that use technical jargon from their department while assuming everyone else already knows it. There is always a simpler way to say something. If you still feel your audience won't understand you...relay your information as a metaphor. I just came from Nuclear Energy class where if you walked by our classroom today you might have thought we were talking about hanging Christmas decorations...but instead we were learning about how to use the cross-sections of atoms to estimate reaction rates. Using metaphors, allows the audience to visualize what you are discussing and relate it to something they have previously seen...in other words, your topic seems "familiar" to them. With familiarity comes comfort and the willingness to listen more and perhaps become more interested in what you have to say. To me, understanding the power of a metaphor is a crucial skill in communicating science.
With all that aside, this post is just a friendly reminder that...as always my blog will be a Jibba-Jab free zone. That is...no jargon... just plain English. If something I write ever confuses anyone...I welcome questions.
I competely agree that metaphors are the way to go! They are very helpful and not used nearly enough.
ReplyDeletegood job on the public interaction
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I like that you point out that scientists and engineers already use metaphors--we just need to find more that work for the public. Nice work.
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