Engage: Science Communication in the Graduate Student Curriculum

As a graduate student at the University of Washington, I often struggled to explain my research to my friends and family without losing them in a sea of jargon. In order to improve my skill in communicating my research to non-scientists, I enrolled in a novel course called “Engage: The Science Speaker Series.” I learned key tools for creating an engaging public presentation: story-telling, improvisation, analogy, clarity, brevity, and accessibility. The course culminated in a 30 minute presentation on my research at a public venue (video available at engage-science.com). My eyes were opened to what had been missing in my scientific education, not only the importance of engaging the public in science, but also the art of doing so. Here I present my experience and some of the best practices I learned and continue to incorporate in everyday conversations about research with a variety of audiences.