Let's Talk SciComm

This week it is a huge honour for us to speak with our long-time scicomm colleague Nancy Longnecker who is Emerita Professor of Science Communication at the University of Otago. She has collaborated in the production of communication resources and assessment of their effectiveness in work that is often multidisciplinary and cross-cultural. In a career spanning four decades, Nancy has produced both physical and virtual resources, including exhibitions, displays, podcasts, websites, and teaching resources. She has written over 100 books, book chapters and articles. Nancy has taught science communication and contributed to workshops in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, the UK, and Denmark and has supervised over 50 science communication research students from 17 countries.

Nancy is thrilled with her recent exhibition – Hou Rongo: Moriori | Music | Manawa. Hou Rongo offered an immersive look at the home and culture of New Zealand's indigenous Moriori people, who are often neglected or misunderstood. This exhibition blended tradition with innovative technology to evoke the feeling of being on Rēkohu (Chatham Island) amid the realms of the etchu (deities). The exhibition used sacred cultural objects, large video projections and an atmospheric soundscape to transport visitors to this special place. Nancy says, ‘I am proud to have been a part of a talented multidisciplinary team of academics and cultural advisors. With the Hou Rongo exhibition and its legacy components, we are honouring Moriori culture and contributing to its revitalisation.’

You can follow Nancy and learn more about her work here: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-longnecker-7275ab66/

https://www.otago.ac.nz/science-communication/staff/longnecker

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Longnecker

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/ym98

Welcome to Season 13 of Let’s Talk SciComm. We’re so thrilled to be kicking off another season as we head towards our 100th episode! 

To get the season off to a fabulous start, this week we’re thrilled to talk with the incredible Sarah Firth (she/ her).  Sarah is based on Wurundjeri Country in Melbourne, Australia. She is an artist, writer, cartoonist, graphic recorder and animator, originally trained as a classical sculptor. She has received a Talking Difference Fellowship from the Immigration Museum, was a finalist in the Incinerator Gallery Award For Social Change and her comics were part of Eisner Award-winning and Ignatz nominated comic anthologies. Her debut graphic novel Eventually Everything Connects was shortlisted for The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards 2024, selected as The Age’s Non-Fiction Pick of The Week, ALIA’s Notable Graphic Novels of 2023 and one of The Best Graphic Novels Ever by Refinery29.

You can buy Sarah’s brilliant book Eventually Everything Connects in Australia/ NZ here: http://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/daGy9Q

And in US/UK/Europe here:

https://www.graphicmundi.org/books/978-1-63779-068-7.html

You can follow Sarah and learn more about her work here: 

https://www.instagram.com/sarahthefirth/

http://www.sarahthefirth.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahthefirth/

https://www.facebook.com/SarahTheFirthCreativeServices

https://twitter.com/sarahthefirth

https://www.tiktok.com/@sarahthefirth

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/om98

You NEED to listen to this.

In this week’s episode of ‘Listen to This If…’ Jen and Michael explore how to grab your audience’s attention. In just five minutes Jen and Michael will discuss everything you need to know to turn heads and captivate your audience.

https://hbr.org/2023/07/3-ways-to-keep-your-audience-focused-during-a-presentation

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/7-ways-hook-your-audience-first-60-seconds-jaimie-abbott-mba-gaicd/

https://thespeakerlab.com/blog/attention-grabber-examples/

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/kog8

Upcoming presentation got your palms sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy? Don’t worry, forget mum’s spaghetti, because we’re not going to let you miss your shot. Tune in to this week’s episode of ‘Listen to This If…’ where Jen and Michael give you all the tips and tricks to turn those shaky hands into a killer mic drop. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXHivnWyZyo

https://hbr.org/2016/10/how-to-calm-your-nerves-before-a-big-presentation

https://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/discover-ucl/top-tips-overcoming-dreaded-presentation-nerve

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/w8g8

Doomscrolling getting in your way? Don’t worry! Jen and Michael have some great tips to break the scrolling cycle and get you back to your task. In this week’s episode of Listen to This If, we’re discussing addictive algorithms and what strategies you can employ to get off your phone and  back on track!

https://hai.stanford.edu/news/psychiatrists-perspective-social-media-algorithms-and-mental-health

https://www.uhhospitals.org/blog/articles/2024/07/doomscrolling-breaking-the-habit

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/students/news/2020/may/study-boosting-benefits-exercise

https://catherineprice.com/phone-break-up-challenge

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/u778

Over the word count on an assignment? It can be stressful trying to trim the writing you’ve put so much effort into.

Luckily in this week’s episode, Jen and Michael have some handy tips to wriggle down those words while keeping your writing sharp and relevant to the task. Tune in now!

https://www.brandeis.edu/writing-program/resources/faculty/handouts/reverse-outlining.html

https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/reading-aloud/

https://crosstalk.cell.com/blog/how-to-reduce-word-count-without-reducing-content

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/2d78

Got an interview coming up? Don't worry, Jen and Michael are here to help! In this five-minute episode, they'll give advice to make sure you're prepared for a perfect interview. From putting your mind at ease to carefully studying the job posting, Jen and Michael will provide you with practical tips that will boost your confidence and help you land the perfect job. Listen now and get ready for your interview!

https://www.proclinical.com/blogs/2021-6/3-ways-to-make-a-good-impression-in-a-scientific-interview

https://headspace.org.au/explore-topics/for-young-people/job-interview-preparation/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpkegRmPgis

https://www.askamanager.org/category/interviewing

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-02/how-to-nail-job-interview/9868736

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/is78

We're thrilled to launch an exciting new series of our podcast, 'Listen To This If...'. 

Jen and Michael will deliver a speedy, five-minute Friday fix packed with practical hot tips to tackle your toughest science communication challenges.

Next Friday, we're starting with something we all want to know: how to ace a job interview!

An enormous thank you to the University of Melbourne Science Communication students who form the production team for Listen To This If: Madeleine Kelly, Riccardo Petroni, Meiqi Peng and Lorne Whytcross.

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/9cc8

We’re ending Season 11 with a fabulous conversation with climate change communicator Dr Simon Torok. Simon is CEO and Director of Scientell, a science communication company that seeks to maximise the impact of scientific information. He distils technical information for non-scientific audiences to communicate the importance of science in our lives and its role in understanding the environment. Simon has a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication from the Australian National University, and completed a PhD in climate change science at the University of Melbourne. He has managed communication for CSIRO in Australia and for the Tyndall Centre in England. He was editor of the Helix and Scientriffic science magazines, and has published more than 200 newspaper, magazine and scientific journal articles. He has co-authored 20 popular science and climate change books, several of which have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Hungarian.

You can follow Simon and learn more about his work here:

https://www.scientell.com.au/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-torok-5570782/

https://x.com/Simon_Scientell

This week we absolutely loved speaking with highly skilled communications coach David Crisante. David has had a career in journalism, political speechwriting - including for Australia's Foreign Minister -  and science communications. These days he helps professionals to master storytelling techniques so that they’re more effective when communicating with stakeholders.  David is founder of the Sydney Comedy School, where students discover their unique communication styles and how they can be more confident and charismatic, in public speaking and in everyday life.

He is the director of Future Science Talks, and in 2024 he took his Science Comedy Program around Australia, training hundreds of scientists in the art of using humour to build rapport with audiences.

David’s career history includes reporting for the ABC and SBS, as well as an international correspondent in Tokyo for several years, where he specialised in reporting on the nuclear disaster of 2011. He was a political and crisis response specialist for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  David has managed a wide array of PR crises, such as international kidnappings, pirate attacks and the disappearance of MH370.

You can follow David and learn more about his work here:

https://www.davidcrisante.com/

https://www.futuresciencetalks.com.au/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidcrisante/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/future-science-talks/

https://www.youtube.com/@FutureScienceTalks

https://x.com/ScienceTalksAU