So here's the thing,
You might be on a radio phone-in, talking about the probe that incredibly just landed on a distant comet.
Or you could be giving a seminar on the latest application of CRISPR or perhaps, even
doing a live video call into a classroom from Antarctica, talking about your research gathering ocean data
But no one, in any of those audiences, has to listen to you.
Don't get me wrong,
all of these science communication projects are about really interesting, exciting, active areas of science.
But someone with the radio on, can be having a chat with a mate,
a conference guest could be distracted by Twitter and kids in the classroom
could be staring into space, picking their noses.
There's little point, putting in the time and effort to do science communication, if no-one listens.
This video is about how to ensure they do.
It's part of a YouTube course on how to talk about science with non-experts.
This is the first of three videos about capturing and keeping your audience's attention.
And although I wrote the course with a focus towards practicing scientists.
I'm hoping it's helpful for anyone interested in science communication, especially this video.
I've got five top tips on the way for you, so pull on the waders, it's time to go hook an audience.
Good timing, it's got a big hook on the front!
*Let the interesting out*
First up, don't feel you need to put in lots of effort making your science interesting to your audience.
It is interesting, I guarantee it.
If you're doing a PhD or a postdoc on it, if you're in a science centre or a museum
and this is some science you really want to talk about, you are interested in it.
You've just got to let that interesting out
*But it needs to be their interesting*
I was at an event recently, where groups of young people were presenting science research that they'd been working on.
What they've done was amazing and I remember two lads spent five minutes telling me all about ionic solids
What they are and how they made them.
They found the chemistry and the process really interesting.
I...didn't but then almost as an afterthought,
they mentioned that these ionic solids could revolutionize battery tech or space rocket engineering.
Boom! Then I was interested.
If they'd started with, "We've been working on something that could be a brand new
lubricant for space rockets", then they'd have had me from the off.
Don't start with simply,
explaining your research or even necessarily what you've discovered.
Start with something your audience will be interested in.
Something relevant to them that will capture their attention.
That's the hook. There are some types of hook that regularly deliver the goods.
I'm going to introduce you to them now.
And if you drew up an audience profile in video two, that will help you identify how best to use them.
*Curiosity is the itch they can't resist scratching*
Granted, finding a hook that your audience will find interesting, is easier for research on
volcanoes or black holes or cute animals, as you can tap into the almost universal
Interests of epic dangerous stuff.
The mystery and magnitude of space and well, cute animals.
Likewise, if your research is on ways to make people healthier, richer or sexier, then you've got it easy.
It's more difficult for less tangible, more abstract stuff
but there are plenty of hooks that you can turn to.
The first is curiosity.
Share an incredible fact or even better,
Tease an idea about something your audience don't know but will be really interested in.
This is known as an Information gap.
It creates or exposes a small gap in their knowledge and they'll feel compelled to try and close the gap.
They'll listen to try to find out.
For example, the researcher in the Antarctic,
actually gathers that ocean data by attaching
sensors to elephant seals, who then go out and collect it for them.
That's an amazing fact, and it also leads you to go, "Hang on, have you seen an elephant seal?
How do they actually get the sensors on them?"
*Hook the heart*
Curiosity captures the mind but you can also aim for the heart.
Use a hook that makes your audience feel something.
Every day, 815 million people wake up hungry, but we make enough food to feed them.
One-third of all food we produce, ends up rotting in a bin.
That's a hard-hitting emotional hook for sure.
The speaker will no doubt go on to discuss how the lack of food comes from issues with distribution and cost.
But it can also lead into the exciting world of CRISPR.
How gene editing can produce bananas that don't brown as quickly so they can be transported further
and last on shelves longer.
*Your emotions are contagious*
Hands up, if you've watched someone talking about something that you didn't think you'd be interested
in at all, but because they were so
Passionate about it, their excitement and enthusiasm was infectious and you were captivated.
Yeah, if people see you love what you're talking about, they'll love it too.
So explain why it means something to you.
Because you love peeling back the layers of the universe, because you enjoy working on something
that no one else currently has a clue about.
That self disclosure piques people's emotional empathy.
A great example, is a lady who recently described her research to me, with an awesome fact,
that piqued my curiosity and In a way that was overflowing with her emotion.
She opened by saying this, "I trap mini Suns in bottles and use magnets to try to get their energy out".
Just like with fishing where you've got your Aberdeen, your piggyback or your streamer hook.
It's amazing what Google can tell you.
You've got a range of hooks for effective science communication too.
To help you figure out what yours could be, to help you sort out your tackle if you will,
I've got a free course resource that can help.
You get a whole free pack of resources that run alongside the course.
If you've got any thoughts or questions, do drop them in the comments below
and subscribe to the channel to hear about future videos.
Next up, we're going to discuss how to keep hold of this attention that you've just caught.
See you there.