She did what??

From http://planninga-from-nanninga.blogspot.com

Grab your audience’s attention with an unexpected twist!  I recently attended a workshop on writing successful grant proposals (highly recommended!), and the presenter, Dr.Peg AtKisson, 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.  We were captivated…and quiet!

From Their Perspective

Most of us know the old adage “know thy audience.”  The critical question is slightly different - what does your audience want? 

I recently participated in a discussion on science communication, moderated by Gail Scowcroft of Discovery of Sound in the Sea (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.

Vancouver Washington Toastmasters Club

Live in the Vancouver, WA area?  Want to practice your communication and leadership skills?  There's a new Toastmasters International chapter forming in the north end of town.  We meet every Monday from 7-8 PM at the Salmon Creek Burgerville. 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!

Blogging from the Deep

I just got back from a conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life 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.

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!

Increase your h-index by improving your presentation

By Janine Castro, PhD

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-index) “the h-index 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.” 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.

 

Have they read your paper?

The River Restoration Northwest audience, February 2013.

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.

The Dance, Dance Revolution…of Science Communication

Source: http://insiderspassport.com/

 

 

Speaking in front of a group is hard enough, but to dance?  That pushes many scientists over the edge.  Still, if you are one of those researchers brave enough to “bust a move”, Science Magazine has a challenge for you – the Dance your PhD contest!

This contest requires a whole different communication skill set – the ability to explain your dissertation research through interpretive dance.  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

saying a word.

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.  Good luck!

Authenticity: just be you

By Janine Castro, PhD

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www.ratrodbikes.com

I’ve been teaching a number of public speaking workshops for scientists lately and have stumbled across an interesting dilemma.  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 emulate 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 your correct style.