Short talk (and long discussion) about the value of being strategic in science communication the context of the annual meeting of the Long Term Agroecosystem Research Network (LTAR).

1. Goals: The start of
more strategic science
communication
John C. Besley
Ellis N. Brandt Professor
Communication Arts and Sciences
Michigan State University
w/Anthony Dudo
Associate Professor
Moody College of Communication
The University of Texas at Austin
This material is based upon
work supported by the National
Science Foundation (NSF, Grant
AISL 1421214-1421723. Any
opinions, findings, conclusions,
or recommendations expressed
in this material are those of the
authors and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the NSF.
Lego 11 by Robert Andres, via Flickr Creative Commons

2. Background
• Research on public’s views
about science and scientists
• Research to help science
community communicate
more effectively
• Interviews with key actors
• Surveys of scientists

3. The “goals” question should be the first question …
What do you hope a
specific group of people
will DO as a function
of the time, money, and
energy you put into
communication?
Make the
world better
A behavior
Consider evidence?
Adopt policy? Choose
career? Buy? Use?
Donate? Vote?
A non-behavior
See legitimate?
Accept?
Not refuse?
Not leave?

4. Effective Science
Communication
Education, Correcting
misinformation,
Translation, Distillation,
Explanation, etc.

5. Stages of change …
What do you hope a
specific group of
people will DO from
the time, money, and
energy you put into
communicating?
Make the
world better
A behavior
Consider evidence?
Adopt policy? Choose
career? Buy? Use?
Donate? Vote?
A non-behavior
See legitimate?
Accept?
Not refuse?
Not leave?
Pre-contemplate
Contemplate
Prepare
Act
Maintain
Is there a sequence of
behaviors you want?
Seek information,
buy, trial, optimize,
master, share, etc. …

6. You should be one of your ‘audiences’
What do you hope a
specific group of people
will DO as a function
of the time, money, and
energy you put into
communication?
Make the
world better
A behavior
Consider changing your
research choices or
approaches?
A non-behavior
Accept a situation/
decision as beyond
your control
… grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
Reinhold Niebuhr

7. Many different
types of ‘beliefs’
(and feelings and frames)
can contribute to
behavior change

8. How do we think slow communication works?
Over time, efforts to
foster deeper engagement
with science and scientists
should result in long-term,
cumulative changes to
all communication
participants evaluative
beliefs/perceptions
Attitudes are the sum of available beliefs
(b) and the evaluation (e) of those beliefs
Paul Sableman, Dripping via Flickr Creative Commons

9. Behavioral Goals
• Outcome of many factors
(cannot be achieved directly)
• Chosen based on priorities
Communication objectives
• Beliefs, feelings, frames (+salience)
• Direct effect of communication
• Chosen based on goals/context
vs. Cognitive processes (motivated reasoning, biased
processing), SES, personality, traits, ideology/values, etc.

10. And only then do we get to tactics …
Who says (or does) what
to/with who in what way and
through what channel?
De-Jargonizer
How accessible is
your work, paste your
article … to analyze
the amount of jargon
in your writing.
Most training …
Emphasis on
‘translation,’
storytelling,
new social channels,
and fostering
dialogue (+ more)

11. This material is based upon
work supported by the National
Science Foundation (NSF, Grant
AISL 1421214-1421723. Any
opinions, findings, conclusions,
or recommendations expressed
in this material are those of the
authors and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the NSF.
Discussion? Questions?