Communicating your research stories
Dr Robin Morton
When we think about research communication, it is so often connected to the impact agenda (in the UK) and the metrics that research leaders in academia find themselves having to come to terms with.
Research communication professionals like Robin are there to enthuse research leaders view research communication beyond the metrics & impact. They help researchers find their own path to communicating their research in ways that connect to their own values, interests and motivation,
Entering the world of research communication can be done in many ways and there are different approaches to playing a role in research communication. Here, we hear one story from one scientist, who is now helping other scientists shape their research stories.
About Robin
Dr Robin Morton works as science communication manager at the University of Edinburgh at the Centre for Regenerative Medicine in the Institute for Regeneration and Repair. Robin started his research career as a scientist working in neuroscience for his PhD, then doing a Postdoc in learning and memory. Robin then “jumped into industry” for several years before returning to an academic environment, where he had the opportunity of working in different project management roles.
He shares his path into working as a science communication manager and provides some valuable ideas about how researchers/ research leaders may want to explore perspectives about the role of research communication.
Get in touch with Robin
This will get you thinking about:
· When is the right time to get started with your research communication?
· Why seeing yourself as a science/research communicator is just part of the job?
· Who could your audience be?
· What is gained from deep listening and 2-way communication?
· How you may get surprised by the possibilities that engaging research participants may bring?
Some reflections and questions to ponder based on my discussion with Robin
The stories we tell ourselves
When Robin reached the end of his Postdoc, he had to make the decision of what to do next. Well, many of you will have been there! It is not an easy step to balance different threads of possibilities that pull you in multiple directions. You may have an ideal version of your identity as a scientist/ researcher- the person you wish you could be. We cannot always reach the ideal version of ourselves that we have created in our heads.
The process of deciding what to do next in research careers is complex. It can be a painful transition. You may tell yourselves all sorts of nasty stories to convince you that it is the right thing to leave academic research behind. For many of you, creating new powerful, empowering and positive stories of new professional identities is probably not your default position.
For example, when Robin was trying to figure out what to do at the end of his Postdoc, he told himself that he lacked the encyclopaedic knowledge that he perceived as necessary to undertake an academic career. He also felt that he was struggling a bit presenting his research to peers. These are mostly negative self-talks that we construct in our attempts to move on in our careers when we feel that we are leaving research careers behind.
One anchor in making his decision about what to do next was his undergraduate experience working at GlaxoSmith during a gap year. The lived experience of working in an industrial research environment created a picture of what doing research in a non- academic context may be like. This was enough to give him the impetus of having a go at working in the pharmaceutical industry.
It is hard to “see ourselves” in a professional context or in a role, when we do not have anything to anchor our imagination onto. That’s why creating opportunities to experiment various professional contexts is so valuable. This can be done through short internships or networking with professionals from other areas.
One of the metaphors used by Robin was that of jumping into industry. The boundaries we create between sectors can be real but is most likely based on our assumptions. So what assumptions are you making about different professional sectors and how is this impacting your ability to engage positively? This idea can be used in the context of career transition, but also about how you may engage as an academic with various stakeholders.
o What negative stories are you constructing in your head in an attempt to help you make decisions in your career?
o What about experimenting with alternative versions of these stories to make new versions become stories of possibilities, of excitement, of positive next option, stories where you become the powerful hero?
o Can you consider the various assumptions you are making that limit the range of choices and possibilities you may be exploring?
How much listening of your audience are you prepared for, in your research communication?
Robin became more aware of his own competency in communicating well, when he was exposed to clients during contract research undertaken in industry. He learned to deal with clients and really address their needs. Only then, did he realise that he could really communicate well.
This ability of being a good communicator became essential when he returned to a position as a project manager in academia, on a project where he was responsible for liaising with research participants. The involvement of social scientists in the project influenced his thinking about what it meant to communicate in an open and 2-way process with participants. It was not just about sharing information but shifted towards more listening.
Robin shares a really interesting example of a project where the interaction between the participants and the lead academic was responsible for reshaping, and in this case expanding the scope of the project. In this example, the research team had limited the scope of the project because of ethical concerns and not wanting to ask too much from participants. The long-term engagement with participants by the team meant that the participants challenged the academics to go even further in their approach to exploring the topic in ways that the team would not have expected.
o How are you constructing your communication activities so that you are actually prepared to listen to your audience?
o Are you making assumptions about how they may react to your work?
o Are you really prepared to listen or do you just want to tell?
Where do you start with your research communication?
When I started working as a researcher developer, I initiated a module on research communication and public engagement. I spent years motivating early career researchers to get started with communicating their research in ways that engaged and motivated them. In the early years, roles like the one that Robin currently holds as research communication manager did not really exist. Academics often did find challenging to get started with their research communication. There is now a huge amount of support within institutions to help academics find a way of doing research communication that really fits what motivates them.
Some questions and advices that Robin gives researcher/ academics when they get started:
- How is your work relevant to a particular audience?
- What is the story you wish to tell your audience?
- What is the core message you want to communicate?
- How can you reach those who may benefit?
- Remember that your message is not your results- your message is linked to your audience and their needs
- Start small with your communication projects
- Always think about your audience
- Really define who your audience is
- Build your skills and enhance your confidence just by doing it
- By experimenting, you will learn what works for different audiences and what you are good at.
- Ask yourself about who will benefit from your research?
- Communicate with clarity.
There are so many wonderful ways to undertake research communication. Lots of valuable resources can be found here.
One important point made by Robin, which I also always stress during the workshops I run about research communication is to engage the audience at an emotional level. Emotions anchor how we can captivate our audience. Robin makes the point that sometimes just saying to an audience that we are finding it really hard to explain in a way that is accessible can be a way of making ourselves more engaging. Sharing our own vulnerability as researchers, sharing our research struggles and fears, sharing our doubts and challenges in understanding our own work, helps audiences redefine how they see the research community. It helps us open to more informal exchanges with our possible audience in ways that take away the hierarchy that so often limits true open and honest engagements.
o How are you currently exploring new audiences that you have not dared engage before?
o What is it from your work that may be of relevance and interest to them?
o What is your emotional anchor when you are communicating your research to an audience?
o How are you getting them to want to listen?
Go and experiment with your research communication!
Many years ago, I did such an experiment where we were trying to explore ideas about synthetic biology. The project involved schools, scientists and theatre practitioners. There remain a series of filmed sketches we used to initiate conversations with people about the ethical and economic dimensions of synthetic biology. This was a really fun project!!
“Think about your audience, who is your audience? What’s important to them? Why is this research important to them? Is there a context that they’re familiar with that you can capitalise on?”
