Making your science communication go further: a workshop from the editors of Inspire the Mind
Making your science communication go further: a workshop from the editors of Inspire the Mind (WORKSHOP)
Theme: Other (e.g. History, teaching, outreach, etc)
Tuesday 25th April, 09:30 – 11:10
Effective scientific communication has never been as important as it now, and we want to help scientists engage with a wide range of audiences in an accessible manner. The pandemic has highlighted the importance of the spread of accurate information and how the lack of knowledge can have detrimental social consequences. As researchers, so much of our focus is on writing for other researchers. As a result, writing for other audiences falls by the wayside. We want to encourage researchers to inform and raise awareness of their research findings by training them in various ways, such as writing blogs, podcasting, and utilising online platforms to help reach the wider general population. This would also help scientists with grant applications, increasing visibility of their research, and exposure to external ideas, which would ultimately benefit their science. Therefore, this would be an interesting workshop for well-established and early career researchers in the neuroscientific field. The workshop would start with a presentation on writing scientific blogs and a few early career researchers will talk about their experiences of writing and editing blogs for Inspire the Mind (www.inspirethemind.org). We will then discuss how to better engage with people on an online platform, which would include learning how to host interviews and create podcasts. We will also highlight the importance of engaging with social media, press, and the news. At Inspire the Mind, we talk about sensitive topics and provide a space to share peoples' experiences, and lastly, we will also talk about how we empathise with our writers and help them tell their stories. An overarching theme of our session is the integration of communication, creativity and science, and by the end of our session, we aim to invigorate researchers to connect to their creative side, whilst ensuring that accurate scientific knowledge reaches the public.
- Lea Schmid, King's College London, UK: So, you want to be famous? How to engage media in science communication
Riddhi Laijawala, King's College London, UK: The secrets of writing an impactful and informative science blog for a lay audience - Carolina Estevao, King's College London, UK: Bringing a fresh voice to science podcasting: the experience of “At the back of your mind”
- Clare Liedstrand, University of Westminister, UK: Combatting science denial: How to communicate science in a climate of misinformation
- Amina Begum, University of Westminster, UK: The structure of a blog: a practical exercise
- Ally Jaffee, NHS, UK: Being a Mental Health Content Creator
- Gargi Mandal, King's College London, UK: Writing about science for different audiences: a practical exercise