Do’s and don’ts of effective science communication

Do:

✓ Tailor your information and materials carefully for your audience

✓ Remember that many people really struggle with even basic comprehension of numerical information – keep statistics to a minimum, avoid graphs

✓ Talk about individual scientists, people and personalities – including personal stories and portraits

✓ Convert data into images that people will understand – always explaining what it will mean. For example, don’t just talk about metres of sea level rise – talk about what it will mean for the coastline

✓ Always maintain some sense of proximity – use examples of what is happening now, and around you

✓ Ensure that you also talk about opportunity and talk about constructive responses

✓ Have Fun. Be confident. You are the expert in what you know and how you think and feel about it

Don’t:

Χ Apply generic technical scientific language to a mainstream audience

Χ Use excessive statistics, data, or graphs with a mainstream audience

Χ Talk about science in an abstract, mechanical or  institutional sense

Χ Be entirely abstract or numerical about threats – for example only talking about X degrees temperature rise

Χ Only talk about impacts that are far away or in the future

Χ Only talk about doom and gloom of climate change, however well researched, as mainstream audiences will respond poorly. Ensure that you also talk about opportunity and positive visions.

Χ Be scared. You are a communication hero. You have something important to say to the world.