O’Connell demos the importance of clear communication between scientists and their audiences

On March 27th, 2018, Dr. Christine O'Connell – Associate Director and Assistant Professor, 

Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, School of Journalism, Stony Brook University, and Affiliate Faculty, in both the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and the Institute for Advanced Computational Science – presented “Speaking about Science and Making It Count.”  This was a joint presentation of SUNY ESF’s Adaptive Peaks Seminar Series and the Women in Scientific and Environmental Professions Speaker Series. The Department of Environmental Studies and Great Lakes Research Consortium jointly sponsored the seminar with the ESF Women’s Caucus.            

Dr. O’Connell began by discussing how scientists often have trouble conveying empathy for their standpoints and being clear in communicating ways in which the audience can understand. She commented on how scientists’ use of jargon can make their presentations inaccessible to their audience. Dr. O’Connell mentioned how this tendency can be rectified by being thoughtful about the needs of the audience and thinking carefully about the choice of terms used during a presentation.  Scientists often fall victim to the "curse of knowledge," in that the more one knows about a topic, the more that individual tends to talk above the average layperson's head on that topic. In order to reach the average person, scientists must make a concerted effort to make sure topics are accessible to their listeners.  Dr. O’Connell pointed out that scientists are really bad even about communicating with each other, and around 80% of what is heard at a conference doesn't end up getting through to audiences because of that lack of communication.

Dr. O’Connell then led an activity and talked about passing an imaginary ball as an analogy for communication.  If the receiving individual is not able to ‘catch’  your pass, then often the individual who threw the ball had not indicated (using eye contact and body language) where the ball was headed. This is a useful analogy for communication; for an audience to be able to receive information, the person communicating has to be attentive to their listeners. Dr. O’Connell illustrated that one method of understanding the audience’s view is by asking questions. Then, using those questions to connect with that mode of thinking. She stressed that scientists should feel comfortable talking about themselves and being more personal, because it will increase the rapport with the audience and make the presenter more credible.  After all, people are more likely to trust information from people with whom they have formed a connection.

Dr. O’Connell received her BS in Natural Resources from Cornell University and her PhD in Marine and Atmospheric Sciences from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.  Her research focuses on women in  STEM, science advocacy, and environmental communication, the connections between  science and society with a focus on marine spatial planning, ecosystem-based management, waste management, conservation planning, and ecosystem services.

The next presentation in the WiSE Professions series will be "Afrofuturism and the Environment", April 12, 2018, with a discussion facilitated by Robyn Reed of Union College.  For more information about the WiSE Professions Series, please visit http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus/Speakers.htm or the SUNY ESF’s Women’s Caucus at http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus/.

As part of the requirements of FOR797, Perspectives on Career and Gender, students share responsibility for reporting on the WiSE Professions speaker series.  The preceding was written by Jenny Frank, MS student in the Department of Forest and Natural Resources Management; Sally Guillorn,  MPS student in the Department of Graduate Program in Environmental Science;  Blake Neumann, MS student in the Department of Graduate Program in Environmental Science; and Maggie Tarsel MS student in the Department of Forest and Natural Resources Management