Why scientists have to stop speaking in High Alien
Very clever people with a decade or four of subject expertise in public health need to know how to talk to the rest of us about their work in plain English. Here’s why, and how they can get started. The post Why scientists have to stop speaking in High Alien appeared first on Bhekisisa .
The Climate Health Story Project, supported by the Wellcome Trust, aimed to help researchers studying the impact of climate change on people’s health to share their findings with the public. Senior journalist Ida Jooste led the project, teaching a group of 10 academics and climate and health advocates how to write stories that are accessible to a general audience.
Researchers often used jargon-laden language, which can be difficult for non-specialists to understand. One example given was research on antibiotic resistance, which can be explained more simply as heat and sunlight speeding up the way germs learn how to beat medicines, and them swapping this skill with each other. The project emphasized the importance of capturing the audience's attention at the beginning of the story and using plain language to encourage greater understanding and engagement with the science.
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