Six simple steps to kickstart your research communication
The Institute of Genetics and Cancer is home to some incredible research! I know. I’ve seen it myself. Every time I step into the office, I hear new and fascinating research conversations.
Let’s be honest though, it’s not always simple, is it? When I first heard the terms Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) and knockout mice, I was left confused. Did they knockout mice for research purposes? ‘No.’ I was later told. ‘They’re mice with one or more genes turned off.’ Well, that was a relief to learn!
But… how do we communicate these complex topics to ‘the public?’ Following these six simple steps can help kickstart your communication and engagement and make sure it gets off on the right foot!
Know Your Audience
It’s no good saying you want to target ‘the public’ and leaving it at that. Think about your family and friends. Do they all think the same way? Probably not. ‘The public’ are no different, and they have a variety of thoughts and opinions.
So, before you start, you want to know who you’re aiming to communicate to. Who’s the most important audience to you and your research? Perhaps it’s cancer patients, or maybe you’re wanting to encourage high school students to take up a science career. Whoever you want to reach, always keep them in mind. What would they want to know, and why is your research interesting to them?
Define your goals
Before communicating or engaging, you need to define what you want to achieve. How many people do you want to reach? Where will you reach them? What will you do? How long will it take?
All these questions and more can be defined using SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-specific) goals/objectives. Here’s an example I made earlier: Recruit at least 200 people from the Traveller community into our cohort within the next 3 months.
Defining your goals in this way will make it much easier later on. It will help you figure out what was successful and what could be improved in future.
What’s your hook?
Did my blog title draw you in? Hopefully, it did. It was designed with you in mind. I wanted researchers to have an easy starter guide to communication. If you’ve read this far, I guess it worked!
In the communication world, it’s known as a hook. ‘The public’ won’t engage with your work unless it’s relevant to them… and you won’t always be engaging a public affected by the condition you research. So, it’s your job to make it relevant and show them why it matters. Draw them in with an interesting conversation starter or a relevant eye-catching graphic.
Where to reach your audience?
If members of the public have different thoughts and opinions then, naturally, you’ll find them in lots of different places, specific to their interests. For example, there may be young people on Facebook but… you’re more likely to reach a young person on Tik Tok or Snapchat.
It’s not just about social media channels either. Newspapers, blogs (like this one), forums and websites all hold different and unique audiences that you can reach out to
Also, what communication and engagement methods might they prefer? You might want to ‘gamify’ your research for an audience who likes gaming or maybe you want to reach the football community with something more physically engaging. Whatever you choose, refer back to your target audience and keep in mind what they want.
Tell the story
Everyone loves a story. Stories have been told for as long as anyone can remember, and they’re a fantastic tool to use in any communication or engagement.
Harness the key elements that make a great story. Remove the jargon, use metaphors to tie the science to real-life and alliteration to keep it catchy.
You don’t have to write to create a story either. Stories can be told through movement, images or spoken. No matter the method of engagement you use, make sure it tells an immersive story.
Jay Van Bavel’s gummy bear inheritance illustration
Don’t forget the visuals!
We love a good story, but we’re also heavily reliant on what we see. When we see an image, we can analyse it and determine its meaning almost immediately. We’re drawn to familiar, bright and nostalgic objects.
Now you know this, you can harness it! How can you use familiar objects and relate them back to your research? Is there an everyday tool that uses your technology, or a treatment that began because of research like yours? Use that to your advantage.
Whilst this blog doesn’t even scratch the surface, I hope it’s helped kickstart your communications and engagement plans.
What are you working on right now? Let us know in the comments. The IGC communications and engagement team is always happy to help you develop your activities!
Rachel Edwards
Communications Officer, IGC
(Craig Nicol)
(Craig Nicol)
(Jay Van Bavel)
(Craig Nicol)
(andrei11)
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