P resent your science The rewards of talking to non-experts

1. Present your scienceThe rewardsoftalkingto non-experts Karin Jonsell ScientificCoordinator Bolin Centre for Climate Research

2. Your tasks The most important things for you is to… Do your research Tell people about your research ...or what’s the point?

3. The normal scientific way

4. Experts and non-experts • You have the in depth knowledge of your research • You are an expert in your particular field • Not common people • Not your friends • Not all people at your department • Not even all people at the conferencesyou attend But, not everyone is

5. The difference To present your research to experts and non-experts are... two completely different things

6. Help the non-experts • Help the non-experts to understand the beautyof your research • To do that, you have to adaptyour way of communicating

7. What to say To experts: • Every detail • All doubts • Every aspect of the scientific process • Conclude: • “We need to investigate more to be able to be sure of anything…” To non-experts: • The most important things • What you are reasonably sure of • Very little about the scientific process • Conclude: • “We have seen X and this means that…”

8. Answer the key questions Answer in a direct way and with a simple language What? Whom? When? No loose ends in the minds of the audience Why? How?

9. A good advice Formulate your “elevator pitch” An elevator pitch: • Sums up the unique aspects of what you do • Phrases it in a way that excites others • Answer the key questions what, when, how, why, whom • Tells it in the short time span of an elevator ride (5-30 s) An elevator pitch is what you would like to say summarised in a few sentences

10. Example My elevator pitch: “I1 have investigated the content of elements in the atmospheres of very old stars2by dividing the stellar light in different colours3. The element content differs and are like signatures telling us about the environments in which the stars were born4. Our data show us that our galaxy, the Milky Way, was formed out of many small galaxies5in the early universe some billion years after the Big Bang6.” • Whom • What • How • Why • Main results • When

11. Adapting is hard work To speak about your research in plain language is very hard for someone trained to normally speak scientific gibberish You have to practice! So, why bother?

12. The rewardsoftalkingto non-experts To formulate your research plainly has several advantages: • You prove that you are not a complete alien • You get the logic of your research worked out • You get much rewarding feed back • You get new perspectives and ideas • You get better at teaching • You get better at explaining in scientific articles • You write better grant applications • Grant money = scientific survival

13. Get help • Ask non-experts for honest feed back • Read up on presentation techniques • Eg. Some guidance for a successful presentationby Karin Jonsell • Get practical help • Practise, practise & practise ...and see what’s working Good luck & have fun! Karin Jonsell ScientificCoordinator Bolin Centre for Climate Research karin.jonsell@geo.su.se 070 206 24 45