Environmental Science
This Library Research Guide is intended to help you identify and locate scholarly and non-scholarly resources (books, articles, etc.) on the subject of environmental science. On this guide you'll also find info on library services, research tips, career i
Tips for Effective Communication
Effective communication in any discipline not only requires a level of mastery of content but also an understanding of the audience with which you intend to communicate and the forms of communication that might be most effective in specific situations. Oral presentations, scholarly papers, infographics, etc., all have a place in telling the story of your research. Determining which of the aforementioned (or which combination) is the appropriate format is key to communicating the relevance of your research and topic.
Keep in mind the following questions for effective communication in the sciences:
- What does your audience already know?
- What is your audience most interested in learning about?
- How can you translate technical terms into plain language for a general audience?
Below are some resources to help you think about your audience and some approaches to best convey your message.
- Communication Learning in Practice for Scientists (CLIPS) This link opens in a new windowThis Australian site offers practical tips for connecting the audience to your content.
- Effective Communication, Better Science This link opens in a new windowThis article is from the Scientific American blog. "Science communication is part of a scientist's everyday life. Scientists must give talks, write papers and proposals, communicate with a variety of audiences, and educate others."
- Explaining technical information to non-technical people This link opens in a new windowThe single greatest skill you can have beyond your own technical skills is communication of technical topics to non-technical people. Not only is this efficient but people will feel more involved and in the know.
- Plain Language Guidelines This link opens in a new windowGuidelines developed to help you and your agency write clearly, so your users can: Find what they need; understand what they find; and use what they find to meet their needs.
- 12 Tips for Scientists Writing for the General Public This link opens in a new windowLearning the principles of journalistic nonfiction often requires scientist authors to step away from an academic writing style that has come to feel intuitive. Nevertheless, using these principles can make the scientist’s work more relatable, memorable, and trusted.
- How to Summarize Non-fiction This link opens in a new windowThe skill of summary, retelling non-fiction (factual information) in your own words.