tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9225134246184146612024-03-13T20:41:18.850-07:00CommunicatalystSpeaking about Science...the blog about how to communicate scientific concepts to the public, and to other scientists, and about why we should care.Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-80531037088528795632014-02-03T22:36:00.001-08:002014-02-03T22:36:43.950-08:00Communicatalyst has moved!I've migrated to a site with more functionality. <a href="http://communicatalyst.com/">Communicatalyst.com</a> is on it's way to becoming a real science communication website! Please update your bookmark and I'll see you on the new site.Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-47239141926357742392014-01-22T13:25:00.002-08:002014-01-22T13:25:19.096-08:00January 27th communication event!<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Want to improve your communication and leadership skills? Toastmasters can help! The local <a href="http://www.salmoncreektoastmasters.org/salmon-speakers/" target="_blank">Salmon Creek Toastmasters club</a> is holding an open house on Monday, January 27th at 7 PM at the Salmon Creek Burgerville. Stop by to see how Toastmasters can help you reach your professional and personal goals! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Guests are welcome any Monday, not just this week. For those outside the Vancouver area, check the <a href="http://www.toastmasters.org/" target="_blank">Toastmasters International website</a> to locate a club near you.</span>Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-76567970754005174992014-01-02T22:53:00.000-08:002014-01-02T22:53:13.175-08:00The 4th C
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ocr0g-3OR1A/UsZdlRT8OxI/AAAAAAAAAKs/rJt8LIHI3q0/s1600/coat-md+for++2Jan2014.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ocr0g-3OR1A/UsZdlRT8OxI/AAAAAAAAAKs/rJt8LIHI3q0/s200/coat-md+for++2Jan2014.png" width="185" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">by Andrea for http://www.clker.com</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last post I mentioned the 3 C’s of communication: content,
clarity, and charisma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It turns
out there’s a fourth C: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">coat</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At the morning competition for <a href="http://famelab-eeb.arc.nasa.gov/competitions/2013-agu-december/" target="_blank">FameLab San Francisco</a>, one
contestant chose to wear his coat while he delivered his speech.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a nice coat – new, neutral
color, and very stylish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when
it came time for his evaluation, the judges focused on the coat more than his
content. The take-home message?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What we look like – our clothing, accessories, and overall appearance –
makes a difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this case,
one judge was so incensed about the coat that she could barely remember the
message!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As scientists, we often concentrate on presenting our data…did
we get the facts right, and remember to make a particular point?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is all important, but our public
face – what we look like – matters too. For a conference talk, that probably
means a tailored shirt and slacks (or a business suit - any M.D.s out
there?).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For young women, I highly
recommend pants rather than a skirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Most of us want the audience to remember our message, not our legs, not
matter how great they look! For a public talk in a bar (think <a href="http://www.scienceontap.org/" target="_blank">Science on Tap</a>),
I usually opt for something more causal, like jeans and a blazer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to look professional yet
comfortable, and not out of place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For a talk at a school I’ll break my “no skirt” rule, showing the girls
that they can be scientists and still look good in a skirt and boots!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What’s your favorite talk attire? Whatever your look, let
the audience focus on your message, not your clothes…and leave the coat at
home.</span></div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-31523830491795646212013-12-23T13:00:00.000-08:002013-12-23T13:00:04.612-08:00Sailing the C’s of Science Communication
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image modified from www.clker.com</span></div>
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A good public talk about science should both inform and
entertain (in my opinion, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any</i>
scientific talk should do both!). At <a href="http://famelab-eeb.arc.nasa.gov/how-it-works/">FameLab</a>, with three
minutes and no PowerPoint crutch, contestants seek the right balance of
information and fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The judging
criteria really hit this balance using the three C’s of science communication:
Content, Clarity, and Charisma. These C’s form the backbone for any good talk,
and we’ve looked at components of all of them before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, I want to remind readers that they all fit
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Content</b> This
one’s obvious, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We each have
a scientific message to share – the excitement of our latest findings on cell
division, whale song, or planetary geology. For many of us, I think the
challenge is to restrain ourselves from cramming too much content into our
talks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether we have 3 minutes
or an hour, each talk should have one core message, and the content should all
support that message. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For my first
FameLab talk (video coming soon), I focused on plainfin midshipman fish and how
their whole reproductive system revolves around song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These fish sing a mean tune!</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Clarity</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even Nobel Prize-winning findings don’t
mean much if no one can understand them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To get our message across, we need to be clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This doesn’t mean “dumbing it down” for
a lay audience – I find that phrase insulting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means structuring our talk in such a way that new
content follows old, and that we use language and comparisons appropriate for
our audience. In my <a href="http://dtc-wsuv.org/coffinlab/research/hair-cells-and-hormones-research/">research
on midshipman fish</a>, I can either say that these fish show seasonal auditory
plasticity, or I can say that the female’s hearing changes during the breeding
season. Both points are correct, but which is easier to understand?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Charisma</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For most of us, this last C is the
hardest – we became scientists because we’re good in the lab, not because we’re
the life of the party. Charisma doesn’t have to mean handshakes and kissing
babies…we’re not running for office! Communicating our passion for science, and
doing it with a smile and some appropriate humor, goes a long way to making our
science accessible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my
midshipman talk, I opened by singing “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’” <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092099/">a la Tom Cruise</a>, then
explaining that some fish also sing to attract the ladies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t even sing in the shower (might
damage the plumbing!), but it captured my audience’s attention with a bit of
fun. </div>
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Prepare your next talk with the 3 C’s in mind and you’ll smoothly
sail the C’s of science communication.</div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-47828821223358062342013-12-16T13:48:00.000-08:002013-12-16T13:48:44.996-08:00FameLab: share your science in 3 minutes or less
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z758dQxT5B4/Uq90-SJ-clI/AAAAAAAAAJM/84kYNdufK30/s1600/famelab.tiff" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="77" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Z758dQxT5B4/Uq90-SJ-clI/AAAAAAAAAJM/84kYNdufK30/s200/famelab.tiff" width="200" /></a>Last week I competed in <a href="http://famelab-eeb.arc.nasa.gov/">FameLab</a> USA, a science communication
contest sponsored by NASA and National Geographic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each contestant gets 3 minutes, and only 3
minutes, to talk about research that interests them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No powerpoint, no graphs, just you, maybe a
basic prop, and the audience. </div>
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Competing in FameLab was a fantastic experience!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I placed in the top three in the San
Francisco regional, so I may have a chance to go on to the US finals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll post videos soon of my speeches, and I’m
going to feature various aspects of FameLab in a series of blog posts,
including guest bloggers than I met at the contest.</div>
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In this first post I feature an overview of the competition
as an encouragement to all of you science communicators out there-you should
enter!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.famelab.org/">FameLab</a>
is truly international, with regional contests in over 20 countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the US, contests are generally associated
with large scientific meetings. Topics in my regional varied widely, with several
on astrobiology (the search for signs of life on other planets) and others on
marine biology, such as the secret life of squid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The winner was a geologist who caught our
attention with her rock-paper-scissors opening (spoiler: geologists always
choose “rock”!). </div>
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Each talk was both informative and entertaining; a great mix
sure to leave a lasting impression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
FameLab competition near you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can
submit a video for the online “regional”, or organize an unofficial event in
your town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may have my students give
FameLab-style presentations about their research in my neuroscience class this
spring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The possibilities are endless,
and with only 3 minutes, they go by quickly!</div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-32072580222355084832013-12-01T18:20:00.000-08:002013-12-01T18:20:27.031-08:00Filler mosquitoes
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I once had a colleague who liked the phrase “sort of”…a
lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He once recorded a record 81 “sort
of’s” in an hour-long talk. Not only did these unnecessary qualifications
weaken his presentation, but the regular use of a filler word (or phrase, in
this case) hindered communication of his message.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qR7-yWYvzp8/UpvuGvPjPoI/AAAAAAAAAI8/ciE8sqI_xlI/s1600/Slide1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qR7-yWYvzp8/UpvuGvPjPoI/AAAAAAAAAI8/ciE8sqI_xlI/s200/Slide1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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We’ve all used them…the ahs, ums, and you knows that creep
into our speech when we’re searching for the right words. An occasional filler
word is like a solo mosquito - possibly annoying, but not much of a concern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too many filler words, however, are
like a swarm – the audience is too distracted swatting them away to pay close
attention.</div>
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Lately I’ve noticed a new filler word cropping up in my own
speech; actually. Yes, this is a legitimate word, but I (and several friends)
seem to use it as a crutch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why
say something is “actually over there” when simply “over there” would suffice?
Even real words, when used as fillers, can detract from our point.</div>
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How do we rid ourselves of these words?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think the first step is
awareness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Toastmasters, each
meeting features an “Ah Counter”, a person who records each speakers’ filler
words and reports back at the end of the meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone in our lives can function as an “Ah Counter” if we
ask; friend, roommate, cat (ok, maybe not the cat).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try this exercise: ask a friend to track your use of filler
words during a normal 15-minute conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, after a brief break, have another 15-minute
conversation with the same person, actively trying to reduce your filler word
count. If we create a new habit in our everyday speech, that habit will carry
over into more formal speaking situations.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Let’s banish those verbal mosquitoes with <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>some virtual bug spray; awareness, and
practice!</div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-57267438310946280342013-10-07T18:20:00.000-07:002013-10-07T18:20:42.013-07:00She did what??
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3nFMpPMNgvg/UlNceTnfeaI/AAAAAAAAAIg/aHqjH0NFFvY/s1600/parachuting+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3nFMpPMNgvg/UlNceTnfeaI/AAAAAAAAAIg/aHqjH0NFFvY/s200/parachuting+cat.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From http://planninga-from-nanninga.blogspot.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Grab your audience’s attention with an unexpected
twist!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recently attended a <a href="http://www.grantcentral.com/index.html" target="_blank">workshop</a> on
writing successful grant proposals (highly recommended!), and the presenter, <a href="http://www.grantcentral.com/prostaff_peg.html" target="_blank">Dr.Peg AtKisson</a>, used a clever trick to get us all in our seats after the lunch
break. Peg, a rock-music vocalist, briskly launched into a musical story about
cats parachuting into Borneo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were
captivated…and quiet!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe you can’t sing – there are plenty of other ways to
capture their attention!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try popping a
balloon (as one colleague did in a talk on hearing), or start your presentation from the back of the
room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get a co-conspirator to call your
cell phone during your talk, then answer it to deliberately make a point
(perhaps about new technology, or about the distractions of cell phones). There
are thousands of ways to liven any presentation with a brief and unexpected
turn of events. What have you tried or seen?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Please comment on your favorite.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh, and the cat song?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s based on the spraying of DDT in Borneo back in the 1950s…here’s one take on the
<a href="http://planninga-from-nanninga.blogspot.com/2009/11/strategic-planning-analogy-292.html" target="_blank">full story</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-82046456308688591442013-08-26T22:00:00.000-07:002013-08-26T22:00:04.066-07:00From Their Perspective
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ijde3H4dnC0/UhWaj_M_vPI/AAAAAAAAAIA/NRGPhxgHzso/s1600/Slide1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ijde3H4dnC0/UhWaj_M_vPI/AAAAAAAAAIA/NRGPhxgHzso/s200/Slide1.jpg" width="200" /></a>Most of us know the old adage “know thy audience.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The critical question is slightly
different - what does your audience want?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I recently participated in a discussion on science
communication, moderated by Gail Scowcroft of <a href="http://dosits.org/">Discovery
of Sound in the Sea</a> (I highly recommend their website - more about them in
future posts). Ms. Scowcraft defined three classes of audience member that we
might interact with during a talk (or for written communication): learners,
stakeholders, and the media.</div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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As scientists, most of us are most comfortable interacting
with learners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This includes other
scientists, students, anyone seeking information for the sake of
knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a noble goal, but
there are other equally important goals sought by other groups, and we need to
consider these needs and goals in order to get our message across effectively.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stakeholders are those with something to gain (or lose!)
based on the information we provide – they have skin in the game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the recent conference on the <a href="http://www.an2013.org/">Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life</a> (where this
discussion on science communication occurred), the stakeholders were regulators
and oil company officials.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
parties didn’t just want information; they wanted to know how to apply this
information to their work in regulating underwater noise, or in mitigating
effects of noise during underwater oil exploration projects. As scientists,
it’s up to us to help them understand the implications of our work and how it
affects these stakeholder groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m not suggesting that we play politics (although sometimes we
should!), but that we consider policy and business aspects of our research, and
speak accordingly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Similarly, the media have very different expectations from
us. They aren’t looking for lectures; they’re looking for sound bites! What’s
the one really important/interesting/sexy thing about our work, and how can we
(or they) convey it in 60 seconds or less? Journalists are looking to sell
stories, so for us to be effective, we need to give them a story to sell.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who’s in your audience? Next time you’re preparing for a
talk, or writing something that will see the light of day beyond a research
journal, consider your audience and their needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes providing information isn’t enough.</div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-74057174252552577712013-08-23T11:47:00.001-07:002013-08-23T11:47:11.291-07:00Vancouver Washington Toastmasters Club<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Live in the Vancouver, WA area? Want to practice your communication and leadership skills? There's a new <a href="http://www.toastmasters.org/" target="_blank">Toastmasters International</a> chapter forming in the north end of town. We meet every Monday from 7-8 PM at the Salmon Creek <a href="http://www.burgerville.com/" target="_blank">Burgerville</a>. This Monday (8/26/13) is an open house where we showcase the Toastmasters program and how it benefits members. Come early to get a seat!</span>Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-29197631211294557382013-08-21T21:54:00.002-07:002013-08-21T21:54:22.933-07:00Blogging from the Deep
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5SH0xTqIxDw/UhWW9fQkCVI/AAAAAAAAAHg/JjxeuFV31c8/s1600/banner_2013a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="103" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5SH0xTqIxDw/UhWW9fQkCVI/AAAAAAAAAHg/JjxeuFV31c8/s320/banner_2013a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I just got back from a conference on the <a href="http://www.an2013.org/" target="_blank">Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life</a> in beautiful
Budapest, Hungary. The focus, of course, was underwater noise…noise produced by
boat traffic, or bridge construction, or the animals themselves, and how this
noise effects marine mammals, fish, and aquatic invertebrates. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My next several blog posts will highlight themes in science
communication that came to light during this conference, either as issues
raised by conference participants, or as items I noted as an attendee (and
presenter). I also hope to feature blog entries from guest bloggers that I met
at the conference – I’m not the only one thinking about communication!</div>
<span id="goog_477387375"></span><span id="goog_477387376"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8e1SwkVjHVQ/UhWZNQlIz2I/AAAAAAAAAHw/cwnbUgEH92k/s1600/Slide1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="46" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8e1SwkVjHVQ/UhWZNQlIz2I/AAAAAAAAAHw/cwnbUgEH92k/s320/Slide1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-70219473661671498642013-07-22T13:47:00.000-07:002013-07-22T13:47:00.733-07:00Increase your h-index by improving your presentationBy Janine Castro, PhD<br />
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial;">According to Wikipedia (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-index">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-index</a>)
“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">h</span>-index</b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>is an index that attempts to measure
both the productivity and impact of the published work of a scientist or
scholar. The index is based on the set of the scientist's most cited papers and
the number of citations that they have received in other publications.</i>” If
you quickly scan the average number of citations per scientific journal
article, you are likely to see a range of 5 to 10. Because a few papers are
cited hundreds or thousands of times, there are many papers on the other end of
the distribution that are never cited.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iVCvxtRZgRQ/UeRfzaOOg4I/AAAAAAAAAG4/ncg4GwDU5Ow/s1600/h-index+picture.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="105" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iVCvxtRZgRQ/UeRfzaOOg4I/AAAAAAAAAG4/ncg4GwDU5Ow/s320/h-index+picture.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Have
they read your paper?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The River
Restoration Northwest audience, February 2013.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial;">Using myself as an example, my most cited
publication has accumulated 81 citations over the past decade, while 7 of my
papers have never been cited. In contrast, over the past six months, I have made
7 presentations that reached 850 individuals. Recognizing that the h-index does
not reflect the total number of individuals who have actually read a paper, but
rather just those who cited a paper, this isn’t really a fair comparison.
However, giving presentations is an excellent opportunity to enlighten an
interested audience about your research. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial;">The goal of a presentation should not be to tell
the audience everything you know in 20 minutes, but rather to encourage them to
read your work and interface with you following the event. Thinking of your
presentation in terms of a research paper, the presentation should be at least
the abstract, and perhaps the introduction, summary, and conclusions, depending
on both the time available and the audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial;">Let’s get back to the “h-index” of presentations
and why you should spend adequate time preparing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Start by asking yourself how much time you
have dedicated to a research project --<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>developing a study design, writing a grant proposal, collecting and
analyzing data, writing up your findings, submitting for publication, making
revisions, and finally (hopefully) getting published. How many months? Or, more
likely, how many years? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial;">I am not suggesting that you spend years working
on a presentation. I am, however, suggesting that you invest enough time to
plan your presentation months in advance. You may start by simply developing an
outline and identifying your main message. With a solid foundation, you can
begin the thoughtful preparation your visuals. Since you are working so far in
advance of your presentation date, you will have adequate time for peer review.
If your paper deserves peer review, then certainly your presentation visuals
deserve it as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By developing your
talk over a period of months, you will have both the temporal and mental space
to revise and improve upon your talk. And if you take the final step of
actually practicing your talk the week preceding the event, then you will have
maximized the impact of your presentation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial;">Scott Berkun may have said it best: “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The problem with most bad presentations I
see is not the speaking, the slides, the visuals, or any of the other things
people obsess about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, it’s the
lack of thinking” </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(2010, Confessions
of a Public Speaker, <a href="http://scottberkun.com/">http://scottberkun.com/</a>).
Give yourself time to think.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">While
there is no guarantee that an engaging presentation will result in an increased
h-index, it is an excellent opportunity to recruit new readers – much like a good
movie trailer. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-63634654274824286732013-07-15T13:44:00.000-07:002013-07-15T13:44:23.204-07:00The Dance, Dance Revolution…of Science Communication
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e6MO-c-BcyY/UeRewnDZAeI/AAAAAAAAAGo/C-jG8SmUJ5o/s1600/disco-dance-couple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e6MO-c-BcyY/UeRewnDZAeI/AAAAAAAAAGo/C-jG8SmUJ5o/s200/disco-dance-couple.jpg" width="170" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: http://insiderspassport.com/</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Speaking in front of a group is hard enough, but to
dance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That pushes many scientists over
the edge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, if you are one of those
researchers brave enough to “bust a move”, <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/" target="_blank">Science Magazine </a>has a challenge for you – the <a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/06/announcing-the-2013-dance-your-p.html">Dance
your PhD</a> contest!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This contest requires a whole different communication skill
set – the ability to explain your dissertation research through interpretive
dance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone that’s ever conducted
dissertation research in a scientific field can participate, even if you
finished grad school before the internet. This is a great chance to communicate
your science in a new way, without</div>
saying a word.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For all of your brave science communicators, round up some
friends, your favorite dance beats, and choreograph a winner as you dance your
PhD. Entries are due 1 October 2013.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Good luck!</div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-70735820239616446842013-04-11T12:53:00.000-07:002013-04-11T12:54:51.815-07:00Authenticity: just be youBy Janine Castro, PhD<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JrHCgSNKAPY/UWcUgjWPfLI/AAAAAAAAAGE/mr6St2LdZPM/s1600/Wanted+chicken-authenticity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JrHCgSNKAPY/UWcUgjWPfLI/AAAAAAAAAGE/mr6St2LdZPM/s200/Wanted+chicken-authenticity.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">www.ratrodbikes.com</span></div>
</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I’ve
been teaching a number of public speaking workshops for scientists lately and
have stumbled across an interesting dilemma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As an instructor, I make a diligent effort to model the behavior that I
am trying to teach, because, after all, public speaking is a performance art. My
goal, however, is not for students to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">emulate</i>
my style, but to create a style all their own. Demonstrating the “right” way to
present invariably leads to the “wrong” way to present. I have come to the
conclusion that there really is no correct presentation style, but there is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">your</i> correct style. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A
number of years ago, I was working with a colleague in eastern Oregon, and he
insisted on wearing a cowboy hat and boots to public meetings with local landowners.
He felt that by looking the part that he would gain credibility and trust with
the locals. It backfired because he wasn’t being authentic – and he never
gained their trust.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Authenticity
is being “true to one's own personality, spirit, or character” (merriam-webster.com).
When someone is authentic, we trust what they say to be true. When we sense
that someone is withholding information, or that they are trying to mislead us
in some way, alarms go off in our head and we become suspicious.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If
you want an audience to believe what you are saying, be receptive to your
ideas, trust your data, and accept your conclusions, then you must be wholly authentic.
If you are using borrowed slides, mimicking a mannerism, or imitating a style
of dress, then you are not being you and the audience will instinctively know.
Because you are putting on a show, you will probably feel uncomfortable, and
the audience will be uncomfortable as well. So the next time you are watching a
really good speaker, or are sitting through a training course, keep asking
yourself “that looks like a great idea, but will it work for me?” Try it on –
how does it feel? As you experiment with new presentation styles and ideas, you
will know which ones work for you because they will simply feel right – like
your favorite pair of jeans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-87589302308525308942013-03-19T09:10:00.000-07:002013-03-19T09:10:35.043-07:00Tracking your progress?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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--</style><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I just attended a talk where the speaker had
a progress bar at the bottom of each slide. The bar nicely showed where we were at in the talk, and how
long until it was done (or so I thought-some of his “single slides” were really
multiple slides built up!). As an audience member, I appreciated the progress
bar, but I also found it distracting…when the speaker was explaining some of
the more difficult concepts, I found myself staring at the bar, rather than
trying to follow his explanation. </span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YPhNq7jnKKs/UUiNAv3tNvI/AAAAAAAAAF4/SOH5iVUAmxI/s1600/Slide1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="58" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YPhNq7jnKKs/UUiNAv3tNvI/AAAAAAAAAF4/SOH5iVUAmxI/s200/Slide1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What do you think? Have you ever tried using a progress
bar or some kind of tracker that the audience can see? Is this device helpful to the audience,
or a barrier to communication? I look forward to hearing from you.</span></span>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-63821538519498392582013-03-03T17:00:00.001-08:002013-03-03T17:05:08.428-08:00Speaking of Executive Presence<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">By Janine Castro</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">What is executive presence, other than a very
trendy term that has infiltrated into the business lexicon? The best, short
definition that I’ve run across is “a strong personal brand” (Susan
Bates).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Executive presence is hard
to break into components because it is more than a sum of its parts; however,
there is general agreement that it is a culmination of appearance, confidence,
and voice, but above all, it is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">authenticity
– the quality of being trustworthy and reliable</i>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">General wisdom is that executive presence is
developed over time and can be learned, but personal attributes vary widely.
Interestingly, giving presentations is one of the primary methods recommended
for the development of executive presence. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Speakers do not have the luxury to develop executive presence
over time – they must make the most of their few minutes on stage, and even
more of the first few seconds when they take the stage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ONi_Ol2lLh0/UTPx2XrWPsI/AAAAAAAAAFc/Y0WhpA2xivs/s1600/executive+presence+graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="189" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ONi_Ol2lLh0/UTPx2XrWPsI/AAAAAAAAAFc/Y0WhpA2xivs/s320/executive+presence+graphic.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From highdesertblogging.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Imagine a typical scientific conference where each
speaker is allotted 20 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You are comfortably seated near the front of the room, notebook in
hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do you notice as the
speaker walks towards the dais? Body mass and posture are all that you can
determine from a distance, but as the speaker nears, you are able to view their
clothing and facial expression. If we accept the widely held notion that over 70% </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">of our communication is non-verbal, we now “know” quite a bit about the
speaker, or at least we have made a series of judgments. Are they well-groomed
and prepared or fidgety and nervous? Before the speaker even reaches the
lectern, we have made a whole series of assumptions, and we have established our
expectations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Once the speaker takes position in front of the audience,
are they engaging and command attention? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do they make eye contact? Is their voice strong and
confident? Are they prepared and do they instill confidence? These are all
traits of executive presence – the ability to grab attention, hold attention,
and convince the audience that they should listen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The speaker is authentic.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">One of the many benefits of improving your speaking
skills is that you are also increasing your executive presence, and increased
executive presence results in more opportunities for advancement and
recognition. Remember, you only get to make a first impression once.</span></div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-37008341845473054532013-01-11T08:00:00.000-08:002013-01-11T08:00:06.579-08:00Science communication: It’s kids’ stuff
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Why is the sky blue?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why is water wet? Kids ask the really tough questions, questions we
adults aren’t brave enough to voice anymore! To really communicate our science,
and engage the next generation with real science, not just collections of
facts, we need to talk to kids on their level. If we can explain our science to
a kid and hold their interest while we teach, we’ve succeeded in our
communication efforts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I43ZP1g7wKk/UOu3W5utCKI/AAAAAAAAAFM/gg4MS4IlsA0/s1600/Flame_from_a_Burning_Candle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I43ZP1g7wKk/UOu3W5utCKI/AAAAAAAAAFM/gg4MS4IlsA0/s200/Flame_from_a_Burning_Candle.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Wikimedia Commons</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Enter Alan Alda (remember M.A.S.H.?) and the <a href="http://www.centerforcommunicatingscience.org/">Center for Communicating
Science</a> at <a href="http://www.stonybrook.edu/">Stony Brook University</a>.
Mr. Alda offers up the <a href="http://www.centerforcommunicatingscience.org/the-flame-challenge-2/">Flame
Challenge</a>, an international contest where scientists submit their best
answers to a question posed by a kid. Last year’s question was “What is a
flame?”. This year brings an even tougher question, “What is time?”. The kicker
is in the judging - answers are judged not by scientists, but by 11-year-olds,
and they aren’t shy about offering their opinion. Talk about trial by fire! (or
perhaps, by flame) </div>
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<br /></div>
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If you want more help building skills before subjecting
yourself to the Flame Challenge, or to any group of scientifically curious kids
(or adults!), check out the course offerings by the Center for Communicating
Science. They have a great line-up of science communication courses and
workshops and even offer a certificate program. Check out the improv workshop…looks
like fun!</div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-78730429788816084142013-01-01T16:06:00.002-08:002013-01-01T16:11:28.596-08:00Learning Style = Presentation Style?By Janine Castro, PhD<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mf3xaIz2vBU/UON7EfWIaAI/AAAAAAAAAE8/pZllAQukW3E/s1600/Learning+style+graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mf3xaIz2vBU/UON7EfWIaAI/AAAAAAAAAE8/pZllAQukW3E/s320/Learning+style+graphic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Several years ago, one of my colleagues recommended
that my prospective field course students take the <a href="http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSpage.html">Index
of Learning Styles (ILS) Questionnaire</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her contention was (and still is) that instructors must expand
both their learning materials and delivery style to address the needs of all
students … hence, the need to know my students preferred learning styles. <span style="color: black;">The ILS was developed by Richard Felder and Barbara Soloman
of North Carolina State University.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a nutshell, learning preferences are evaluated on four dimensions -- active/reflective,
sensing/intuitive, visual/verbal, and sequential/global. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: black;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">After taking the test myself and reviewing the website
materials, I took my colleague’s advice and requested that students complete
the survey. On the first day of class, I plotted the student learning styles on
a chart, which not only helped the students become more self-aware, but also created
empathy for the other learning styles. For instance, a student who was a
“hands-off” reflective learner tended to be more patient and understanding
during a <a href="http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm">“hands-on”
active exercise</a>.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A year later, when I was convening a group of
instructors who all teach in a river restoration program, it struck me that I
should have not only the students take the questionnaire, but the instructors
as well. Based on my own results, I discovered that I have rather extreme
learning styles. Did this mean that I was leaving a portion of the students
behind as I was preferentially teaching to my own learning style? Absolutely. And
I am probably more guilty than other instructors of this offense because I am
so “unbalanced”.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Why does understanding your own learning style help
when constructing a presentation or lecture?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because it is almost a certainty that you teach primarily,
and perhaps solely, in the same way that you learn. There is no reason that you
would do otherwise, unless you realized that there are other types of learners out
there! The more extreme your learning preference, the more of your audience
that you potentially abandon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Take the test and then consciously add any missing
components to your talk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you
are a visual learner, consider providing written material to the audience for
the verbalists. If you are a global learner, then you may need to describe a
process step-by-step for the sequential learners. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Presenting to a diverse group of learning styles is
not necessarily more difficult, but it certainly is more interesting. Presenting
is about communicating to EVERYONE in your audience – not just people who learn
like you!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-42237164561363580242013-01-01T16:05:00.001-08:002013-01-01T16:05:37.516-08:00New Communicatalyst blogger!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m2DHSWK8ZEQ/UON5pFUkGII/AAAAAAAAAEs/j-cLSP4MXrE/s1600/Janine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m2DHSWK8ZEQ/UON5pFUkGII/AAAAAAAAAEs/j-cLSP4MXrE/s200/Janine.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
I'd like to introduce Dr. Janine Castro, a geomorphologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service in Portland, OR. I'll post Janine's full bio soon. Janine has several years experience teaching science communication workshops and will be a regular contributor to Communicatalyst. We are also developing a website with science communication resources and will be offering workshops. Very exciting times-stay tuned!<br />
<br />Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-17057329509102341472012-11-29T22:10:00.001-08:002012-11-29T22:10:55.777-08:00Presentation strength training
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TW1Gx924Wnw/ULhNkClTeSI/AAAAAAAAAEY/F8uP8BvSnRI/s1600/strongbrain-300x253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TW1Gx924Wnw/ULhNkClTeSI/AAAAAAAAAEY/F8uP8BvSnRI/s200/strongbrain-300x253.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From http://www.bboyscience.com/mental-health-strength/</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my quest for eternal youth (or at least slower signs of
aging!) I’ve started weight training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All of those bicep curls and shoulder presses are starting to pay off –
I can actually see muscles in my upper body. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just as we perform exercises to help our bodies look and
perform their best, we can (and should!) perform exercises to improve our
speaking skills. I developed a quick set of speaking exercises to work on
specific aspects of public speaking: voice volume, eye contact, body language,
and removing filler words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
exercises work well in groups of 5-10 people but can be modified for different
sized groups or situations.</div>
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<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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I run this series in 4 rounds, where each round focuses on
one skill while building on the previous rounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Participants stand in a circle and one person starts by
speaking a few sentences, paying specific attention to projecting their voice
to the other members of the group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then the person to their right does the same thing, and so on, until each
group member has a chance to speak while concentrating on voice volume and
vocal control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second round is
much the same, but participants strive to make eye contact with each group
member.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the third round, the
focus is on good posture and a confident stance – feet hip-width apart, hands
relaxed at sides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, in the
fourth round, participants attempt to eliminate filler words (ahs, ums, likes,
you knows) from their speaking. The idea is that in each round, we focus on the
current skill (like body language) but also practice skills from the round
before, such as eye contact.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I assigned a different topic for each round, such as
“describe your holiday plans”, or “what would you do if you won the lottery?” Participants
practiced thinking on their feet as well as on specific delivery skills. These
exercises can be easily modified for different skills (vocal variety, hand
gestures) and using topics appropriate for the audience. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I tried this exercise today in a speaking workshop for
biology majors at <a href="http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/">Washington State
University Vancouver</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and I was
happy with the outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
recommend assigning one member of each group to be the “reminder” in order to
gently cue people to the task at hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For example, if the focus is body language and the person speaking is fidgeting
with their hands, the reminder would say “body language” to make the speaker
aware of the fidgeting behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try
rotating reminders each round so no one is always the bad guy. </div>
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<br /></div>
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You would probably train for a marathon, so how about
training for your next presentation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Try these exercises with your friends or coworkers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Enjoy your workout!</div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-39019555825119612002012-09-09T22:22:00.000-07:002012-09-09T22:22:18.345-07:00Fishy science<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span id="goog_1885120890"></span><span id="goog_1885120891"></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RX0vdiiQ460/UE14rsO3ysI/AAAAAAAAAEI/Z6QoZMmCxf8/s1600/Alli+with+midshipman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RX0vdiiQ460/UE14rsO3ysI/AAAAAAAAAEI/Z6QoZMmCxf8/s200/Alli+with+midshipman.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and a midshipman fish.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
West Seattle is abuzz...literally. Residents report that a strange humming sound disturbing the peace, and it's possible that plainfin midshipman fish are the source of the sound. <a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/sisneros/Joe%20S%20page.htm" target="_blank">Dr. Joe Sisneros</a>, one of my <a href="http://www.washington.edu/" target="_blank">University of Washington</a> colleagues, was recently interviewed by the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2fWO5v6s08&feature=youtube_gdata_player" target="_blank">local news</a>...a great example of science outreach. How did he do? It's tough to communicate in heavily edited sound bites, but I think he did a good job of explaining some science. What do you think of the reporter?<br />
<br />
This story has garnered a fair bit of skepticism, with comments about conspiracies, but mostly people just had a hard time believing that fish could be so noisy. This seems like an open opportunity to educate the public, and to have some fun in the process.Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-306728655143133862012-09-03T14:42:00.005-07:002012-09-03T14:42:54.965-07:00To be or not to be…what is the question?
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I while back I posted about how to deal with <a href="http://communicatalyst.blogspot.com/2012/04/questions-upon-questions.html#more">Q&A
sessions</a> from the speaker’s perspective. More often, however, we’re in the
audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As an audience member,
how do we ask good questions?</div>
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<br /></div>
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I think the answer is simple, but it’s not always obvious,
or at least, not always followed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Simply state your question, then be silent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t preface your question with a story or a lot of
data.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t make several
comments-this is Q&A time, not comment time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And please, be polite. I’m not saying you shouldn’t engage
the speaker if you feel that he or she missed something important, and be all
means talk with them if you have findings that fit with theirs, or if you have
new insight into their work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my
opinion, however, these discussions – for that’s what they are, should be left
after the talk when there’s time for a lengthier chat, and when a room full of
grad students or nervous podium speakers isn’t listening in. </div>
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I think that F.D. Roosevelt’s advice on public speaking
applies best to asking questions during Q&A: “Be sincere; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">be brief</i>; be seated.”</div>
Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-29825153299527613862012-07-25T09:26:00.000-07:002012-07-25T09:26:30.188-07:00Zombie science<style>
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Who remembers Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Bring out your dead, bring out your dead…”
How about bringing out the undead - into the scrutiny of neuroscience? The new
field of zombie neuroscience combines the public zombie obsession with serious
science aimed at teaching the public about brain research through the lens of
zombie behavior.</div>
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Zombies are hot right now; a friend recently ran a 5K race
that involved dodging zombies en route to the finish line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Postdoc <a href="http://darb.ketyov.com/">Bradley
Voytek</a> and Assistant Professor <a href="http://www.cognitiveaxon.com/">Timothy
Verstynen</a> use this zombie epidemic to their advantage, using bona fide
neuroscience concepts to postulate how zombie brains are different from normal
humans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’ve spoken at Comic Con and
other popular venues and they are advisory board members of the <a href="http://zombieresearchsociety.com/">Zombie Research Society</a> (who
knew?). </div>
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Yes, zombie research won’t get you tenure, and Comic Con isn’t
exactly an AAAS meeting. But reaching the public in an interesting, meaningful
way is important! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What tools or cultural
trends do you use to make science relevant?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Are zombies an appropriate outreach subject for serious scientists?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Weight in!</div>Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-17474367146624474902012-07-02T12:41:00.000-07:002012-07-02T12:41:10.818-07:00Scientific writing: motivating or monotonous?<style>
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Let’s leave speaking aside for a moment (or several long
moments, considering I haven’t posted anything for months!) and instead dip
into the written word. In science, our success depends on our writing,
generally in the form of scientific papers that serve as the currency of our
world. Often those papers are formulaic: the introduction says how the
topic/question at hand isn’t fully understood, the methods expound in (often)
boring, third-person detail what we did and how we did it, the results tick off
our hypotheses as each is upheld (like we really know what would happen!), and
the discussion tells people how brilliantly we’ve added to our field by finding
something novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Always “novel”…”new”
just isn’t new enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone once sent
me a great tongue-in-cheek article about how to write a formulaic paper (like
scientific Mad-Libs)-anyone out there in cyberspace have a copy?</div>
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A new book challenges the assertion that academic writing
must be jargon-y and archaic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674064485">Stylish
Academic Writing</a> by Helen Sword showcases examples of bland, traditional
academic prose and contrasts them with vivid, exciting writing from a variety
of disciplines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just ordered my
copy-has anyone read it yet?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What did
you think?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Whether you plan to read her book or not, I think it
highlights a divide in scientific writing: do we write to sound smart, or to
engage? Can we do both in a single piece? How? And how do we change the culture
of academic writing so it’s encouraged to both inform and entertain?</div>Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-30949259202382487932012-04-15T22:40:00.000-07:002012-04-15T22:40:42.977-07:00Questions upon questions<style>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ikHExRqO6Ls/T4uwqko9xfI/AAAAAAAAADw/QWX4gXxhIiE/s1600/question.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ikHExRqO6Ls/T4uwqko9xfI/AAAAAAAAADw/QWX4gXxhIiE/s200/question.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">The French Anthropologist Claude L<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">é</span>vi-Strauss once said, “The scientist is not a person who gives the right answers, he's one who asks the right questions.” <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, as scientists we often have to answer questions as well…usually at the end of our talks when we’re tired and simply wishing for a nap, or perhaps a beer. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Q&A session at the end of the talk is the time when we can build a deeper connection with the audience-really engage, clarify misunderstandings, and strengthen our message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can we do this well?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For a straight-forward question, we can apply a straight-forward technique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Listen politely as the question is asked, repeat the question, and answer it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s it! No going on about some additional data that we really wanted to show but ran out of time, no waxing poetic about the experiment we want to do someday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A simple answer will suffice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, and the repeating part is important, both to make sure we understand the question, and to help the other audience members hear the question (some questioners mumble).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What about the all-too-common times when it’s not a simple question?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve all encountered audience members that talk on and on about the topic, either never asking a question, or asking many in rapid succession like a question gun on automatic. In these cases, I recommend letting the questioner talk for 2 minutes max (less if you’re really pressed for time), then politely interrupting with something like, “let me stop you here to make sure I understand your question”, or “this is what I think you are saying”, and then proceed to answer the question using the simple strategy above. For multi-part questions, it’s often best to answer one or two parts, then tell the audience member that you’re pleased he or she is so knowledgeable/engaged/interested in your topic (a little flattery will get you everywhere) and that you would be happy to continue a discussion with them after your talk.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Finally, sometimes we get a in tight spot with an audience member that truly knows more about a topic than we do, or asks a question for which we don’t know the answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the audience member is right (implying that you were wrong about something), I think it’s best to acknowledge this. If you simply don’t know, it’s better to say so than to say something incorrect before a quick Google search by a tech-savvy audience member leads to embarrassment! Better yet, exchange contact information with the audience member who asked the question, and tell them you will find out the answer to their question and get back to them later. Follow-up is a great way to save face.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As scientists we both ask questions and answer them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t bemoan the Q&A session at your next talk, but instead approach it as another great communication opportunity!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yes, now you can have your beer…</span></div>Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922513424618414661.post-90255809196263250652012-01-30T09:00:00.000-08:002012-01-30T09:00:05.899-08:00Three cheers for the honey badger?<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Last week I introduced the Science Cheerleaders as one way to promote scientific careers and science literacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today I offer up the viral youtube video about the honey badger as another option for science communication outreach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the three people that haven’t yet stumbled upon honey badger hysteria (you can even get a <a href="http://www.6dollarshirts.com/product.php?productid=11464&cat=0&goog=honey_badger">t-shirt</a>, and the <a href="http://randallsanimals.com/?cat=4">book version</a> is due out soon!), here’s a short synopsis.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">A guy named Randall took some National Geographic footage of an African Honey Badger (also know as a Ratel) and dubbed over his own narration in the youtube sensation <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r7wHMg5Yjg">The crazy nastya** honey badger</a>. While the narrator mostly repeats the same few phrases about how the honey badger just doesn’t give a @S!! (fill in your own expletive here), he does introduce a few biologically relevant facts about this interesting mammal along the way. In fact, Randall has a series of youtube videos about different animals, each with his narrative twist.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My question today-is this an appropriate way to teach people about science, or at least spark their interest?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll admit that I’m not a big fan of the honey badger video (I found the narration tedious), but I might be in the minority here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As scientists, how far do we stretch our comfort zone to reach a broad audience?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for those non-scientists reading, how do we catch your attention? Is the honey badger the answer?</div>Allison Coffin, PhD, DTMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18245876353226465010noreply@blogger.com0