Communicating science

It's surprising how times change and how time flies. I'm sat in the sofa in the spare room with a warm glass of red wine, spending my bank holiday Sunday evening blogging... It's been two years since I've posted anything on here. I'd say the usual excuse I don't have the time. But if you enjoy something, you should make time.

I recently tweeted an image linking the importance of mining to smart phone technology and I've been completely blown away by the reception. In just two days, it's reached over 32,000 timelines and over 1000 people have engaged with the tweet! Bar a few negative tweets, I've been messaged and tweeted by members of the public engaging with mining statistics and fascinated by production and recycling of raw materials. Often, people don't make the link between how the cars we drive, the phones we use, the laptop I'm blogging on - all these components came from the ground. It's important to carry on researching how these metals are delivered into the Earth's crust so we can find future supplies.

Over the past few years, Twitter has became a great platform for scientists to portray their research and engage with the average Joe. Science communication and outreach with the help of STEM, is just the start of the interaction between science-related topics and members of the public. It's also helped me to break down my research into manageable creative information and has given me the time to figure out why my research matters to people. It's also very refreshing to be asked obscure questions, yet still challenges me.  

I've compiled a few of my favourite top tips for communicating science:

(1) Learn how to tell your research like a story. It needs an exciting introduction to lure the reader in, have a thorough middle that builds suspense and a clear and concise ending. Cinderella didn't just stumble upon a ball in her local town and meet her true love!

(2) Always think about your audience and adapt your language accordingly. Your audience won't want to be more puzzled by your work, but also they don't want to be patronised.

(3) Get rid of all jargon. There was a fantastic challenge circulating on Twitter. Explain what you do using only the Oxford Dictionary 3000 most used words in English. It's tough...

(4) Write/speak succinctly. Get to the point... Avoid rambling. You'll only have a few moments to capture your audience so use them seconds wisely.

(5) If there is a scientific concept that is difficult to explain, use an analogy. Here goes... Steam rises when you boil water. However when it reaches the cold cooker hood, the steam condensates and forms water droplets and they trickle back into the pan... I use this analogy to explain how you get drainback of acidic H2S-bearing steam condensate, into deeper parts of mineralising systems. You understood it right?

(6) Get on Twitter - it's a great resource and most departments/companies/scientists have profiles. Ask them questions! It's never been so easy.