Everyone expects greatness from me as I am an Indian-African immigrant to this country. However, when you are a female from the age of 21-30, somehow all people care about at family gatherings is your relationship status. Here’s how a typical conversation would go with an aunt of mine:
“Oh beta, you’re getting old now, when will you get married?”
“Haha aunty, not now, I am still in school, Inshallah towards the end of my studies.”
“Oh wow, still in school? (judgy voice)
“Aunty, I’m getting my PhD in Biomedical Sciences.”
“Oh ok beta, but you are getting old, we need to get you married otherwise no one will want you… you know” (says as she walks away)
And the conversation comes to a full stop.
But why? She was interested in my personal life, but as soon as I mentioned PhD and science, she ended the conversation and left.
Over the years, it appears scientists have isolated themselves. But can you blame them? Everyone has the need to belong to a group. Belongingness and acceptance, increases one’s motivation and mental wellbeing.
Similarly, scientists have bonded with other scientists and found a group they can belong to. And most scientists have grown to be comfortable in this niche. However, with the rise of technology, drug discovery, medical therapies, new diseases, environmental concerns, and the media over simplifying science, scientists are being forced to step out of their comfort zone.
There are a few things to be considered: Why do scientists need to be better communicators with lay audience? Do all scientists need to become better communicators? How can we get the conversation started?
Why do scientists need to be better communicators with lay audiences?
It’s quite simple. When you go to the Doctor’s office, you expect the doctor to explain what is wrong with you. When you need to get legal advice, you go to the source of legal knowledge, a lawyer. When you want to fly across the world, you expect the pilot to be flying the plane and get you safely to your destination. Similarly, when your curiosity peaks, and you want to learn about the new findings in medicine, new stem cell therapies, climate change, etc., shouldn’t the automatic source of knowledge be the person who discovered it in the first place? A scientist.
Science communication is a part of a scientist’s everyday life. Scientists prep for talks, write papers and grants and communicate with a variety of audiences. Unfortunately, most of our training is geared only towards communicating with other scientists. What we forget is, that beyond our scientific communities, there is a significant audience that is also interested in learning and understanding research and its impact on them and their lives. And for those who are not yet there, they might be too intimidated by the jargon to get excited about the possibilities of scientific discovery.
Do all scientists need to be better communicators with lay audiences?
No. Because I train with scientists, I can say that we are a special kind of people. Not all of us are extroverted and enjoy interacting with others on a daily basis. On the contrary, most of us are introverted and interacting with others can be a bit stressful. The best ambassadors of science would be the scientists with a combination of an extroverted and introverted personality, such that the extrovert side can start conversation and connect to others easily, while the introvert side can listen and provide feedback accordingly.
“Effective science communication happens when we listen and
connect. It happens when we use empathy. Communication is
headed for success when we pay more attention to what the
other person is understanding rather than focusing solely on
what we want to say. – Alan Alda
How can we get the conversation started?
Like any conversation, this also must be a two-way street. Lay audiences should be interested in understanding science while scientists should also have the interest to share their knowledge. In my opinion there are two simple things scientists can do to help communicate their science more effectively:
1) Lose the jargon: the technicality of most terminology means nothing to a non-scientist. Use language that is simple and relatable. Don’t be afraid to make analogies. Paint a whole idea-picture rather getting stuck on the nitty-gritty details
2) Why should we [anybody] care? We live in a world of instant information. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook give you a specific amount of characters to portray your information. People have become more distracted and keeping someone’s attention is getting harder. So, have a couple of sentences ready beforehand as to why anyone should care about your research. It should answer the question: how does your finding affect them and the public? Make sure to keep it short and simple so you keep their attention.
Public awareness of science and research is important. As I continue to explore the scientific community, I believe it is my obligation as an aspiring scientist to try to bridge the gap between the two groups of people: the scientists and laymen.
Next time I am at a family gathering, maybe the conversation with my aunt can go a bit differently:
…
“Oh beta, you’re getting old now, when will you get married?”
“Haha aunty, not now, I am still in school, Inshallah towards the end of my studies.”
“Still? How come?”
“Aunty, I’m getting my PhD in Biomedical Sciences.”
Aunt is impressed… “Oh wow, that’s so nice. What is your research about?”
“I am looking at how our skeletal muscles develop to see if we can understand how they might regenerate during disease, injury, or even aging.”
“Oh, nice beta, maybe you can make me feel young again!”
“Haha, for sure aunty! As soon as I finish my PhD.”
“What will you do after that?”
“I’m hoping to continue a career in research so I have a few options I can explore.”
“Oh wow, mashallah beta, very good beta very good, keep up the good work. We always expected greatness from you!”
~Cell-ebraTez
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