When Science Speaks

In this week's episode featuring Dasanj Aberdeen, a digital product leader and innovation consultant, we discuss a range of issues related to creativity, artistry, and how to consisely present complex issues, including:

Dasanj's background as a self-described "immigrant and global citizen" who embodies "a cross-cultural, cross-geographical perspective" and how it informs her work

The benefits of this outlook, and how Dasanj recommends others without a similar personal background or life experience adopt and apply such an approach to their work

How Dasanj manages the challenge of distilling complex problems down to a one-page visual representation - a superpower of hers - and the types of information she typically wants to ensure get onto that page and get left behind

With art a core part of Dasanj's life, the origins of her interest in art and the interplay between her art and leadership in business

As an innovation consultant - and with the term "innovation" thrown around a lot and perhaps over-used in describing new products and services - what innovation means to Dasanj and how she helps her clients craft truly innovative initiatives

As someone whose been in the innovation and technology space for a long time, what recommendations Dasanj has for listeners who may be interested in getting involved in new product development or startups

In this week's episode, Jordan Harbinger, host of one of the most downloaded podcasts, the Jordan Harbinger Show, and developer of one of the leading self-development programs in the world, shares key insights on relationship-building, the value of social capital, and related topics, such as:

The difference between "networking" and "relationship-building"

What he means by "Digging the Well Before You're Thirsty", a principle in his relationship-building system, and how to do it effectively

Relationship-building during COVID and specific ways to authentically connect in the absence of in-person meetings

The takeaways from his article "The Big Mistake People Make About Networking", how it prevents people from relationship-building before they even start, and how to overcome it

Relationship-building strategies that are proven, powerful, and time-efficient, so they can fit into an already-overstretched life

Resources mentioned in the episode

The Jordan Harbinger Show

Free 6-Minute Networking Course

On this week's episode, Marc Sedam, Vice President, Technology Opportunities and Venutures at New York University, discusses a range of topics related to tech transfer and commercialization of university research, including:

Some common misperceptions or blind spots that the average person has about tech transfer and the value it adds to society

Elements of his career journey so far, highlighting particularly consequential decision points and how he managed them and the skills that have been really useful in the variety of roles he's had over the years in the tech transfer

With his involvement in tech transfer from multiple vantage points, how he thinks these varied professional perspectives inform his work

The advantages of tech transfer as a professional landing spot - which Marc refers to as a "hub" where people with all sorts of professional backgrounds converge to collaborate - and also as a launching pad to a broad spectrum of other careers

Examples of various tech transfer roles and the breadth of academic backgrounds that are suitable for performing them effectively

For listeners interested in learning more about tech transfer - perhaps to help determine whether it might be a good professional fit - how Marc recommends they explore the field in greater detail to educate themselves

In this week's episode, Matt Krisiloff, CEO of Conception, a company working to turn pluripotent stem cells into viable human eggs, talks about SciFounders, which he started with partners Lucas Harrington and Alexander Schubert to help technical founders launch companies. Topics discussed include:

- Why Scifounders decided to focus on technical founders

- Why Matt believes it's a good time for scientists in industry to start companies (link to Matt's blog post below) and also, in Matt's experience, what have been the positives and areas for development he's noticed when working with founders coming from academia

- Steps scientists affiliated with a universities who are thinking about starting their first company could take to better inform and position themselves to succeed as a founder

- SciFounder's mentoring program for idea-stage founders and how scientists can benefit from funding and advice through the program

- Why the type of startup founder who might be a good fit for SciFounders is someone who's "able to communicate clearly with the technical team" and the importance of being an effective communicator both with the technical team and also with external stakeholders unfamiliar with the team's technology, such as potential funders, for example

- Some of the critical factors Matt has noticed that successful startups seem to share and fatal flaws that tend to doom startups

- What Matt sees over the horizon, in terms of business opportunities for technical founders, emerging trends, and potential tripwires to for scientist founders to avoid

Resources mentioned in the episode

Matt's blog post, It's a Good Time for Industry Scientists to Start Startups, November 9, 2022

This week's episode features Chanelle Case Borden, Ph.D., Associate Director of Training at the National Cancer Institute within the National Institutes of Health. We discuss a range of career development and communication topics, including:

Chanelle's scientific research in Molecular Biology and what she enjoyed during her Postdoc experience

What led her to decide to move into a Program Manager role at NIH

Aspects of how Chanelle managed her transition into the programming role that she thinks are broadly applicable and could be useful to listeners navigating their own career transitions

Details about Chanelle's current role as Associate Director of Training Programs and what she enjoys about the position

With outreach a big part of Chanelle's current role - she started the NCI Education and Outreach Program (EOP) to enhance STEM experiences for K-12 students in the greater Washington, D.C. area while empowering teachers to provide high-quality science education - information about EOP

Chanelle's involvement in a high-impact, meaningful program linking cancer researchers to cancer patients

Chanelle's advice for listeners who may be interested in opportunities at NIH - either in training or employment

Resources mentioned in the episode

Education and Outreach Program

Cancer Patient-Research Program

In this week's episode featuring Olivia Bullock, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at George Washington University, we discuss a range of issues related to crafting effective communicaitons, including:

- Olivia's communication research on the importance of narrative in messaging

- Her work on COVID messaging as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

- Olivia's career journey from public relations work to a Ph.D. in communication and how her practical experience informs her research and vice versa

- Her perspective on whether scientists should be leaders or "just follow the data

This week's epidsode features Sarah Habibi, Ph.D., an extraordinary science communicator who uses art and inventive experiments to convey scientific topics in fun, accessible ways. We discuss a range of topics related to science communication, including:

- Sarah's career journey, background in art, and training in eduction and curriculum development - How she incorporated science communication while studying for her Ph.D. and what prompted her to embark on a career in scicomm - Sarah's approach to science communication - how, why, and the way she does it - Her latest science communication projects - Sarah's advice to others trying to figure out how or whether to fit science communication into their professional lives

This week's episode features Paula S. White, author of Side B: Remix Your Leadership Style, who helps individuals unleash their natural skills and behaviors to bring their whole selves into their role and leave a legacy impactful to the people they serve.

We discus a range of leadership issues, including:

How using an approach to motivate, encourage, or persuade that relies exclusively on data and quantitative information overlooks a crucial dimension driving how people make decisions and what to include along with facts and data to more effectively make your points.

A story from Paula's corporate career illustrating the perils of managing by data analytics alone

Her book "Side B: Remix Your Leadership Style" that addresses these topics and more

Why, in her book and coaching work, Paula uses music as a metaphor for leadership styles and how she incorporates music into her approach with coaching clients

The key components, in addition to empathy, we should think about when it comes to surfacing and applying our own Emotional Intelligence

How you could identify EQ elements in you own persona and activate them in your interactions with others

One thing Paula recommends listeners could do today to make progress on their own journey to a more keen awareness and regular use of their Emotional Intelligence

Resources mentioned in the episode

Side B: Remix Your Leadership Style

Paula S. White, Side B Consulting

Scientists are often encouraged to embrace the power of storytelling in writing or presentations, but how do you know which story to tell?

Do you understand how to connect with your reader?

If you struggle to find a balance between presenting research while also making a connection with your audience, you're not alone.

Today we're joined by Trish Hall to talk about her new book, Writing to Persuade, and how you can weave her suggestions into your own work.

Trish Hall's served almost 5 years as the Op-Ed Editor of The New York TImes—doubling her department's size and creative output. She's credited with creating one of the cornerstones of the Sunday Times, the 'Sunday Review'. Trish's other senior roles at the Times included Assistant Managing Editor and Living/Style Editor. She concluded her tenure with the Times as the Senior Editor.

Trish recently published "Writing to Persuade" (W.W. Norton) and writes and edits Op-Eds for clients who want to get their opinions out into the world

Trish graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor's Degree in History.

Connect with Trish Hall

• Trish on LinkedIn

Resources & People Mentioned

• Book: Writing to Persuade: How to Bring People Over to Your Side
• Pew Research on Credibility

Interweaving the power of storytelling with your expertise

Are you excited to start writing, but worried your opinion or research may be misconstrued? Do you know how to establish a connection with your audience? Trish has some encouraging words: you have some expertise or story that people want to hear. Don't be afraid to talk about a personal experience that will draw your readers in and engage them. People desire to have some context for what you're talking about. So a personal story or experience related to your topic goes a long way.

Remember, as a scientist or engineer, polling consistently shows high degrees of trust in these positions. It's important to keep your audience in mind when you write. What publication are you writing for? Is the typcial reader liberal or conservative? Make sure you establish similarity with your audience. The best way to do that? Establish a personal connection with storytelling.

Personal connection with your audience as a means of persuasion

Scientists tend to focus on the facts and what the research shows. Facts, graphs, and charts are all great tools of persuasion, but developing a personal connection is the strongest. A personal connection is also one of the strongest precursors to change. The 'Me Too' movement took off because everyone has a mother, daughter, or sister. Many people had a connection in some way or another to someone who was personally affected by sexual harassment or assault.

Writing to persuade requires authenticity, the ability to be empathetic, and the ability to listen. If you're looking to share your opinion and persuade your reader to do the same, you have to know their argument. You have to anticipate their questions and rebuttals and address them. Present an argument that is rounded and addresses all issues—and always remember the importance of the human connection.

Make sure to listen to this episode of When Science Speaks to hear more about Trish's career in journalism and the powerful role of storytelling in persuasive writing the next time you're addressing an audience outside your specialty..

Connect With Mark and When Science Speaks

• https://WhenScienceSpeaks.com
• https://bayerstrategic.com/
• On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BayerStrategic
• On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bayer-Strategic-Consulting-206102993131329
• On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markdanielbayer/
• On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayerstrategic/

In this special episode, I share my thoughts on how you can quickly strengthen your communication skills - whether in spoken or written form.

I discuss:

- Lessons from tens of thousands of TED talks

- The "3-Rs" and why they're essential if you want your communications to be memorable and move your listeners

- Why the "Give energy, get engagement" dynamic is such a powerful force in effective communication

- Why you shouldn't try to calm down when you're nervous about giving a big presentation and what you should do instead

- What the Latin root of the word "communication" teaches us and how it should inform your communication style

Resources mentioned in the episode

Newsly.me

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