Science and stories

Stories offer a way of building more sustainable and meaningful engagement with science because people are more used to communicating information through stories than graphs and numbers ¹⁶.

The concept of using the narrative form for communication has become increasingly common among science communicators ¹⁷.

Not only does the use of narratives help public audiences understand complex and abstract science issues ¹⁸ but it also makes the science easier to remember and process relative to traditional forms of scientific communication ¹⁹.

However, not all scientists are familiar with communicating through the narrative form, and it can be difficult to turn scientific research into a compelling story.

You can use what you have learnt from these pages as the building blocks for constructing an effective climate story:

• Take responsibility for how you are heard – find and build your voice
• Understand your audience
• Connect with the values and interests of your audience
• Talk in terms which your audience can relate to, to overcome psychological distancing
• Use the language of risk rather than uncertainty
• Show the human face of science – include a story about your own life that relates to your message

Employ these elements in a ‘and, but, therefore’ structure to provide an engaging and simple framework for your story.

Participants at the Egypt Narratives Project training tell stories

For example, “We know the ocean and atmosphere is a coupled system and that this system shapes how the climate acts but there are still some uncertainties about how clouds affect this process. Therefore, we are developing more sophisticated models to improve our understanding of how clouds affect the climate.”

Tell a story about your own research