The Public Face of Science in America: Priorities for the Future
Appendix A: Foundational Skills for Science Communication
The following abstract and table are part of a manuscript outlining the need for core science communication competencies to advance training efforts around public engagement with science.76 The authors—Elyse L. Aurbach, Katherine E. Prater, Emily T. Cloyd, and Laura Lindenfeld—outline the disjointed and disconnected nature of practical advice surrounding science communication training efforts and demonstrate how the research and evaluative literatures can expand to better support the utility and application of these communication skills.77 The table on the following pages is intended to serve as a coherent organizing framework to provide guidance to science communication trainers and trainees as they work to understand and incorporate foundational science communication skills into educational opportunities.
White Paper Abstract
In order to work toward greater coherence across different training approaches supporting science communication and public engagement efforts, we present a preliminary framework that outlines foundational science communication skills. This framework categorizes different skills and their component parts and includes: identifying and aligning engagement goals; adapting to communication landscape and audience; messaging; language; narrative; design; nonverbal communication; writing style; and providing space for dialogue. Through this framework and associated practical, research, and evaluative literatures, we aim to support the training community to explore more concretely opportunities that bridge research and practice and to collectively discuss core competencies in science communication and public engagement.
Table: Foundational Science Communication Skills, Their Category Elements, and Example Questions
Foundational Science Communication Skill Category:
Goals and Objectives
| Category Elements | Example Questions by Element (non-exhaustive) |
|---|---|
| Visioning success | If the communication or engagement effort was successful, what would happen? What signals or measurement would indicate that the effort was effective? |
| Goal identification and audience alignment |
Given the communication context, what is a reasonable ultimate goal that the engagement work is intended to achieve? What goals might other stakeholders enter with? Are these appropriate and/or aligned? |
| Communication objective segmentation |
Can the objective be broken down into more concrete elements which indicate whether the effort is successful? What other goals might come into play for the communication effort? How are these different from the specific objectives and tactics that might be used in the specific communication effort? |
Foundational Science Communication Skill Category:
Adapting to a Communication Landscape and Audience
| Category Elements | Example Questions by Element (non-exhaustive) |
|---|---|
| Audience choice | Why this audience? Why now? Why this context/space/channel? |
| Logistical | How many people? How much time? What format? |
| Expertise | What type of background in the content is the audience likely to have? How can you connect to and build on what they know? |
| Values and core beliefs | What matters deeply to the audience? What beliefs about norms, oneself, and/or other people might be at play? Are there likely to be charged or controversial topics which challenge audience values that might get raised? |
| Understanding historical contexts and inequities |
What previous experiences has this audience had with scientists? Are there sensitive issues or contexts which might impact trust or other elements of relationship-building? |
| Sources of information | What can be gleaned from event organizers? What must a communicator assume and/or make an educated guess? What can be determined in real time (e.g., using tools like straw polls)? |
| Goals and motivations | Why did the audience show up? What are their expectations? How will the audience use the information? Do these factors align with the communicator’s goals and objectives? |
Foundational Science Communication Skill Category:
Messaging
| Category Elements | Example Questions by Element (non-exhaustive) |
|---|---|
| Message prioritization & distillation | What is (are) the core message(s) to communicate for this audience? Must this message be crafted from scratch or are there pre-developed effective messages that I should amplify? |
| Grouping like ideas; supporting key messages | What are the key elements or pieces of evidence necessary to support the core idea? How can information be grouped to maximize coherence? What is extraneous information to be eliminated because it’s not relevant or useful to audience? |
| Goal and audience alignment | Is this message appropriate to my communication goal? Is this message appropriate for my audience? Does this message align with what my audience needs, wants, or expects from this interaction? |
Foundational Science Communication Skill Category:
Language
| Category Elements | Example Questions by Element (non-exhaustive) |
|---|---|
| Recognizing “science language” including jargon; using plain language | What words and vocabulary should I use to advance my goals? How can I effectively contextualize and define words that may be new to my audience? |
| Literary or linguistic tools | Are there analogies, metaphors, descriptive examples, or other tools which I can use to make abstract ideas more concrete? |
| Goal and audience alignment | What are the “languages” that my audience speaks? What words or concepts are important or familiar to my audience? How can I reference or incorporate those words or ideas into my discussion? |
Foundational Science Communication Skill Category:
Narrative
| Category Elements | Example Questions by Element (non-exhaustive) |
|---|---|
| Organizing information | Am I conveying all the information I need to tell the story? Is my information sequenced in a logical way to tell my story? Do I have all the necessary information to tell the story? |
| Compelling storytelling elements | How can I make my story meaningful and compelling to them? Does my sequence build and release tension? Are there tools which I can employ (e.g., personal stories/anecdotes, analogies/metaphors/visual imagery, etc.) to connect? Are the tone and frame in keeping with my goals? |
| Goal and audience alignment | Is this narrative appropriate to my communication goal? Is this narrative appropriate for my audience? Does this narrative align with what my audience needs, wants, or expects from this interaction? |
Foundational Science Communication Skill Category:
Design
| Category Elements | Example Questions by Element (non-exhaustive) |
|---|---|
| Design principles | What is the color story? How can I use whitespace effectively? Flat/cartoon, hand-drawn, or dimensional design style? |
| Graphical storytelling | What is the core message of this design? Where are the focal points & how does information flow in this design? |
| Representing data | What kind of visual would best represent my data/study compellingly and accurately? |
| Goal and audience alignment | Are my visuals appropriate for my audience? Do they align with what my audience needs, wants, or expects from this interaction? |
Foundational Science Communication Skill Category:
Nonverbal Communication
| Category Elements | Example Questions by Element (non-exhaustive) |
|---|---|
| Posture | How can I position my body in space to express confidence, warmth, and openness? How and where should I move through the space? |
| Gesture | How can I use my body and hands to add emphasis to my words and visuals? |
| Expression | How can I use my face to convey emotion or add emphasis to my words and visuals? |
| Vocal dynamics | How might I use different vocal tools, including pitch, pace, volume, and rhythm, to help make my oral communication dynamic and engaging? |
| Goal and audience alignment | Are my nonverbals appropriate for my audience? Do they align with what my audience needs, wants, or expects from this interaction? |
Foundational Science Communication Skill Category:
Writing Style
| Category Elements | Example Questions by Element (non-exhaustive) |
|---|---|
| Grammar | Am I using appropriate and correct grammar for my audience? |
| Voice and tense | Am I using active voice and/or descriptive verbs? Am I speaking in the present tense? |
| Sentence structure | Am I using declarative sentences? Am I posing questions where appropriate? |
| Clarity | Are my sentences compact and clear? |
| Tone and formality | Does my personality come across? Is my tone and the relative level of formality appropriate for the audience and communication context? |
| Goal and audience alignment | Is my writing style appropriate for my audience? Does it align with what my audience needs, wants, or expects from this interaction? |
Foundational Science Communication Skill Category:
Creating Space for Dialogue: Listening, Empathy, and Audience Engagement
| Category Elements | Example Questions by Element (non-exhaustive) |
|---|---|
| Recognizing historical inequities that have previously excluded audiences | What audiences have been excluded in the past? How can I acknowledge privilege? How can I integrate equity and inclusion into my communication effort? |
| Listening | How can I create space to evoke engagement with my audience? What questions can I ask or discussions can I prompt to promote engagement? How can I convey that I am listening and open to understanding their thoughts (e.g., with active listening or mirroring)? What might I learn from my audience? |
| Demonstrating openness and warmth | How can I sincerely embody and communicate the willingness to connect on a human level? How does or might my body language, voice, or writing convey warmth and openness? How might I stay open-hearted/wholehearted to listen and respond to my audience without defensiveness if a discussion becomes tense? |
| Cultural relevance and humility | Are my frames and examples appropriately situated in my audience’s social, cultural, and environmental contexts? If I do not belong to the same social or cultural groups, how might I express humility and a desire to connect and learn from my audience? |
| Promoting dialogue | What questions might I ask of my audience? What can I learn from my audience? How might I incorporate what I learn from the audience into this interaction and future interactions? |
| Recognizing audience attention as it ebbs and flows | What nonverbal or verbal signals can I pick up on to determine how my audience is responding to me? How can I change my approach to maintain energy and flow? |
Endnotes
- 76Elyse L. Aurbach, Katherine E. Prater, Emily T. Cloyd, and Laura Lindenfeld, “Foundational Skills for Science Communication: A Preliminary Framework,” white paper, retrieved from the University of Michigan. John Besley, Elana Kimbrell, Tiffany Lohwater, and Mary Catherine Longshore reviewed and provided feedback for this white paper.
- 77Elyse L. Aurbach is Public Engagement Lead in the Office of Academic Innovation at the University of Michigan; Katherine E. Prater is a Research Fellow at the University of Washington; Emily T. Cloyd is Director of the Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology at the American Association for the Advancement of Science; and Laura Lindenfeld is Director of the Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University.