Communication skills in scienceResearch in 4 minutes

Aurelio Ruiz

Today

This is actually a compressed version of a 2-hour talk

The slides will be available

It just provides some personal ideas, not a 10 tips to succeed! – Create a pitch that you feel comfortable with, and is aligned with your work and personality

Communication

communicateverb (SHARE INFORMATION) /kəˈmjuː.nɪ.keɪt/

B1 [I or T] to share information with others by speaking, writing, moving your body, or using other signals:

B2 [I] to talk about your thoughts and feelings, and help other people to understand them

marketingnoun [U] (JOB) /ˈmɑː.kɪ.tɪŋ/ /ˈmɑːr.kɪ.t̬ɪŋ/ B2 a job that involves encouraging people to buy a product or service:

Communication

500 – 700 words (3.000 – 4.200 characters) TITLE + abstract

Time over a coffee break in a conference to establish contacts

First impression in competitive funds, job interviews, etc

Elevator pitch So that the listener gets the message WE WANT him / her to get, and becomes eager to hear the rest. NOT JUST A COMPRESSED VERSION

Communication

Communication

Elevator Pitches for Scientists: What, When, Where and How, Uyen Chun, August 2013,The Postdoc Way

Research in 4 minutes: an excuse

Science, Career AdviceYour thesis, in 3 minutes (with Alex. Artaud, Grenoble)http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2015_06_11/caredit.a1500151

Cristina Galusca, DTIC-UPF"The opportunity to sum up my ideas and my research in four minutes struck me as being a really fun challenge“http://www.upf.edu/enoticies/en/entrevistes/Galusca_Rin4.html#.VfL8qpegVkU

Communication

The care and maintenance of your adviserhttp://www.nature.com/naturejobs/2011/110127/full/nj7331-570a.html

A comment we often hear at our workshops is, “My adviser is lovely but he/she is just so busy that we never get to talk about my thesis”. And our response is, “Yes, your adviser is busy. All advisers are busy and will continue to be busy.”

“This is my thesis. My name is written on the front of it. I need to become the driver.” The sooner the candidate does this, the better.

What does Sarah Marley do?

3MT Finals 2014 Sarah Marley - "Say what? Coastal dolphins and noisy environments" https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=39&v=XznGGhyi59g

What does Sarah Marley do?

Personality

Establishes a conversation

You do not need to have results!

Idea #1: Know yourself

Idea #2: Have a clear objective

Idea #3: Know your audience

Idea #4: Prepare and practice

Idea #1: Know yourself

Professionally

Personally

Your project and results

Idea #1: Know yourself

#1.1 What is special in ourselves (projects / results) with respect to equivalent peers? (project / results - in each specific context)

Be informedTest your choicesStart early

Which is your motivation to communicate?

#1.2 Which is your motivation to do research?

Idea #1: Know yourself

#1.2 Which is your motivation to do research?Idea #1: Know yourself

AcademiaIndustry

Policy MakersEnterpreneurship

etc…

Which is your motivation to do research?New knowledge which is not integrated in the research

community is irrelevant• How you can be useful to others / Others can be useful for you?• Why could they be interested in you / your results / your methods? • Who are the direct and indirect beneficiaries of your research? • What can you offer? / Who do you need to conduct your research?

• Other skills• Infrastructures / Strategic providers• Requirements / feedback• Subjects for experiments• Visibility• Future employers!, etc...

• “Greater why”: get to know properly the wider area of knowledge (and who plays a role)

Idea #1: Know yourself

#1.3 Why is research relevant?#1.4 Why is your approach / work relevant to

it?

Idea #1: Know yourself

#1.1 What is special in ourselves (projects / results) with respect to equivalent peers? (project / results - in each specific context)

#1.2 Which is your motivation to do research?How • you can be useful to others / Others can be useful for you?Why• could they be interested in you / your results / your methods? Who• are the direct and indirect beneficiaries of your research? What• can you offer? / Who do you need to conduct your research? • Other skills• Infrastructures / Strategic providers• Requirements / feedback• Subjects for experiments• Visibility• Future employers!, etc...

• “Greater why”: get to know properly the wider area of knowledge (and who plays a role)

#1.3 Why is research in your topic relevant?#1.4 Why is your approach / work relevant to it?

Idea #1: Know yourself

Rachel PikeThe science behind a climate headline https://www.ted.com/talks/rachel_pike_the_science_behind_a_climate_headline?language=en

“I’d like to talk to you today about the scale of the scientific effort that goes into making the headlines you see in the paper”

Rachel PikeThe science behind a climate headline https://www.ted.com/talks/rachel_pike_the_science_behind_a_climate_headline?language=en

Idea #2: Have a clear objectiveCollaboration Competition

Objective of that specific talkEstablish- a collaborationGet- the research grantWin- the Rin4min competition

Achieve something from any effort

Idea #2: Have a clear objective

A 3D printer for molecules, Lee CroninPrint your own medicinehttp://www.ted.com/talks/lee_cronin_print_your_own_medicine?language=en

Idea #3: Know your audience

• Specialists: require detail• Non-specialists: require interpretation

•Different contexts have different norms / language

Audience

How can you help non-specialist?

• Questions which guide• Establish comparison points:

• Direct: “1 Terabyte is equivalent to” ; relative “10% increase in”• Analogies (compare with something known to the audience)• Images

• Reduce Jargon (words, ways of talking)

Audience

How to deal with heterogenous audiences?

• Focus on the non-specialist (adjust)#3.1 Select information: what should the audience remember after your talk• After a specialised part, be sure the general audience can “get back” toyour talk

English Communication for Scientists, Naturehttp://www.nature.com/scitable/ebooks/english-communication-for-scientists-14053993/118519448#bookContentViewAreaDivID

Prof. X, a world-renowned scientist in your field of expertise, approaches you during a break in a conference, and expresses her interest in your work.

She explains that she has just been chosen to lead the scientific committee of a foundation. This foundation will be giving 1MEUR to a highly promising junior scientist. She asks you to meet on the next break for a quick chat with Prof. Y – a big name in a related area of research. (“We just have 5 minutes during the break, go to the point”).

Talk nerdy to me, Melissa Marschallhttps://www.ted.com/talks/melissa_marshall_talk_nerdy_to_me?language=en

Idea #4: Prepare and practicePlanBe informedTest your choicesStart early

Keep your CV continuously updated

Have automatic ways to compile relevant information (such as totalcitations, article most cited, who cites you, etc) – Google Scholar,Researchgate

Have a short bio ready. Keywords, highlights, selected publications.

Make it useful! Keep for instance a personal web updated, increasing yourvisibility

Oral Communication

Difference with written communication? Stronger “dominance” overthe audience

• You set the rythm• Can have some level of interaction / media / free use of (body) language

Select information: which is your main message? (#3.1) People can ask you later for more details

Try to express your project around a clear, simple idea / Imagehttp://ip4ec.upf.edu/

The objective of this project is to develop image processing algorithms for cinema that allow people watching a movie on a screen to see the same details and colors as people at the shooting location can.

Compile pictures which could be useful

Compile ideas from others which you find of interest: a cliché in your fieldmay be new to non-specialists

Structure

The problem, why it matters, potential solutions, the benefits of fixing it ---- Your specific work ---- why it matters / is relevant

Structure

Start with an attention – getter Focus the audience’s attentionon one issue

Close with a take-home message (ideally linked to your attentiongetter)

Story

Personal Well-known story Curious fact

Your Brain on Fiction http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Image

Examples

Cristina Galusca, Center for Brain and CogntionDepartment of Information and Communication Technologies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0Xv2scou1s

More examples

Science pitch (stem cells) https://www.cirm.ca.gov/our-progress/stem-cell-videos?&&field_voc_video_event_tid[0]=746

3 minute thesis http://threeminutethesis.org/

TED in 3 minutes https://www.ted.com/playlists/81/ted_in_3_minutes

#1.1 What is special in ourselves with respect to equivalent peers? (in each specific context)#1.2 Which is your motivation to do research?• How you can be useful to others / Others can be useful for you?• Why could they be interested in you / your results / your methods? • Who are the direct and indirect beneficiaries of your research? • What can you offer? / Who do you need to conduct your research?

• Other skills• Infrastructures / Strategic providers• Requirements / feedback• Subjects for experiments• Visibility• Future employers!, etc...

• “Greater why”: get to know properly the wider area of knowledge (and who plays a role)

#1.3 Why is research in your topic relevant?#1.4 Why is your approach / work relevant to it?#2 Have an objective#3.1 Select information: what should the audience remember after yourtalk. Is there a simple message you may give? Is there a story, metaphore, etc

Thank you

Department of Information and Communication TechnologiesUniversitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona

http://www.upf.edu/dtic/@dtic_upf