Amy Aines is a communications strategist who shows people how to use words to get results. For 40 years, she has helped scientists, technologists and business leaders communicate with clarity and impact. She is a speaker coach, workshop leader and sought-after speaker. These days she’s focused on teaching scientists and technologists how to explain their ideas effectively so they can make a bigger impact with their work. The skills she teaches are important for postdocs who need to learn to talk about their research and their experience in job interviews, too.
Amy’s background
Amy studied communication and media at Connecticut College and UC Santa Barbara. She then went on to work in various communication roles – from technical writer to company spokesperson, to brand builder, PR and marketing communications promoting all kinds of technical products in companies like Coastcom, Pacific Telesis Group, AirTouch and Genentech to name a few.
She also serves as advisory board member for Carbon180 and for Quest a nonprofit working to build a new science center in her community of Livermore, California. In 1999, Amy created Damianakes Communications, a consulting firm dedicated to help scientists build support for their work and company leaders effectively tell their company story, deliver results and navigate change. In November of 2017, she joined Waterhouse Brands a consultancy creating high-impact brands for mission-driven healthcare companies, as Chief Culture Strategist. In 2019, University of California Press published the book Amy co-authored with her scientist husband Roger titled Championing Science – Communicating Your Ideas to Decision Makers.
Watch an extension of this interview, where Amy chats about her work in greater depth with Amrita from ClubSciWri on YouTube.
Q: I know that you believe that communication skills are essential for scientists and STEM professionals, not just those of us who are interested in science communication? Why?
Amy – What you say and how you say it can impact whether you get hired, secure funding or gain support for your ideas. Knowing how to communicate to be understood, build trusted relationships and influence decision makers makes a huge difference in your effectiveness as a professional – not to mention every other part of your life. Over the past 40 years I’ve seen what happens when scientists hone their ability to use words well. If you want to earn respect and make a bigger impact with your work, one of the best things you can do is spend time developing situational communication skills.
Q: What makes communicating about science difficult for many scientists?
Amy – Your graduate school training sets you up for a fall. You’ve been rewarded for having a command of the details. You’ve learned a special language that is well understood by the people in your echo chamber. You’ve become accustomed to talking with your professors and classmates who share your knowledge, so you tend to speak in complex sentences and let the acronyms and jargon fly. You may not realize it, but chances are you came away from your academic training with an unconscious belief that you have to sound like an academic to sound smart and that you have to show all of your work to be viewed as a rigorous and thoughtful scientist or engineer. Outside of graduate school, many of your colleagues won’t be experts in your field. You need to take responsibility for communicating so that you are understood by everyone in the room. I find many scientists don’t recognize the need to make this mindset shift. Nor do they know how to do it!
Q: Where do you often see scientists get tripped up when it comes to how they communicate?
Amy – Most scientists immediately dive deep into details. They don’t provide enough upfront context so that non-experts have a frame of reference for understanding their explanations. Then, they typically cover a tremendous amount of information, leaving the listener to draw their own conclusion – instead of crafting what they say to send a clear and well thought out message.
Q: So how should someone handle situations where they are speaking to non-experts?
Amy- A more effective approach is to start by summarizing what you’ve learned through your work instead of making listeners wait for the punchline until you’ve taken them along on your entire journey of discovery. Give listeners the benefit of the time you’ve invested in collecting and analyzing data. Start there. Then talk about how the findings have shaped your thinking at a high level. This sequence and set up will help you get and keep the attention of the people in the room – especially those who are not as well versed in your area of expertise.
Q: Should more PhD programs include courses on effective communication as a requirement for graduation to better prepare scientists for the work world?
Amy – Absolutely! Just after Championing Science was published, Roger and I were invited to give a talk at the AAAS meeting in Washington D.C. and while we were there, we heard Rush Holt speak about the recommendations coming out of a National Academies’ study on reinventing the future of STEM graduate education. It was so validating to see multiple references to a communication skills curriculum gap. Essentially the report found that your science program prepared you with the hard skills to become an expert without equipping you with the soft skills to make sure your ideas have impact. We knew our book was timely!
At a minimum, I think graduate students should learn how to tailor information to who’s listening, how to craft a clear message, and how to tell if they have been understood. These are a few of the key concepts I cover in my online Talking STEM courses. I teach essential methods, strategies and “how to” approaches for handling common communication situations to help scientists get up the learning curve quickly and compel others to support their work.
Q: Scientists may need to communicate to a variety of different stakeholders from the general public to policy makers, colleagues, investors and researchers over the course of their careers. How can we prepare for this variety of situations?
Amy- Every situation is a bit different, but the same preparation principles apply. You have to figure out how to package information – which is all about how much you say and in what order. To do this effectively, it’s best to do some research so you understand who’s listening. You have to get a sense of what a policymaker or decision maker cares about and how much they already know about your topic. The same is true for talking with the public or other researchers. You also have to think about how the information you have can support your listeners’ goals and what you want them to think, feel and do after they listen to you. From here you want to carefully choose words and create visuals that will help you make your point in the time allotted.
Now more than ever, there is a clear need for more scientists to share their knowledge as advisers at work and with policymakers so that science-based decisions get made when tackling the big problems that we face in our world. It’s just as vital at a local level as it is on a national front.
I also want to take a minute to talk about pitching funders. Venture capitalists will tell you that they often hear scientists drone on about their research and discoveries when they should be talking first about the business case. Yes, funders will care about your science, but that is secondary to knowing that there is a market and what problem your company is uniquely poised to solve. That’s where the conversation with a funder needs to start. We’ve got an interview with Nancy Floyd from Nth Power on the Championing Science website that is a must read for entrepreneurs seeking venture capital funding.
Q: Your work focuses on speaking as a predominant mode for communication, why?
Amy – There’s a simple reason. We talk all the time. And most of us don’t give much thought to the words we say. Yet, career success depends on the conversations that you have about your work. When you learn how to be clear, succinct and compelling in conversation, you also become a more effective writer and presenter. Another reason that I focus on speaking is because we can use our voices, our facial expressions, our gestures and our physicality to help send a message. I enjoy helping people learn how to make the most of this rich combination of tools to earn a reputation as a go-to resource and subject matter expert.
Q: What advice do you have for scientists communicating in a non-English-speaking setting? Say in a developed country?
Amy- Simplify. Simplify what you say and what you show. Start by describing your work at a concept level. Once you have established an understanding of key concepts and set the context, then you can determine if your listeners have the capacity to take in more detailed information. If you find yourself in a situation like this, you might consider enlisting the services of a translator. You can work together in advance to better understand how to bridge the communication gaps. If you are showing slides, you can leave room to translate key words in the native language. You will also want to slow the pace of your speech to give listeners more time to process your words.
Q: What kinds of opportunities can young science communicators take advantage of/get involved with to build their skills?
Amy- Becoming an effective communicator takes practice – especially if you are introverted or your stomach gets knotted up when you are the person that everyone is watching. I’m a big proponent of seeking out every chance you can find to be in front of different kinds of listeners. Offer to present your research at an inter-department seminar so that you’re forced to figure out how to talk about your science to people who are outside of your specialized discipline. Watch and learn from other speakers every time you attend a conference or hear a seminar. You can find great TED talks like this one about how we’re harnessing nature’s hidden superpowers by Oded Shoseyov. If you have trouble finding speaking opportunities, consider joining Toastmasters where you will learn skills and have time to practice.
In the event that you’ve not had very many good role models, you may need to consciously erase some old habits. Adopt the mindset that it is your job as a communicator to speak so listeners can understand. It’s up to you to keep them engaged. The more you put yourself out in front of different groups, the more you’ll build your confidence.
Q: What about SciComm jobs? Are there jobs in industry where you can use your skills as a scientist and as a science communicator?
Amy – The blend of science and communication expertise opens the door for several interesting industry career opportunities – especially in biotechnology and life sciences companies. You can be in charge of the peer reviewed publication strategy. That entails understanding the nature of the research, determining when and how to report results and working with authors to get scientific papers written and published. You are also likely to work closely with the head of corporate communications on preparing materials to be presented at industry conferences.
Another role that combines science and communication skills is that of Medical Science Liaison (MSL). A couple of years ago I did some training for a team of MSLs at Global Blood Therapeutics, a company with a specialty product to treat sickle cell anemia. One of the big challenges that this team faced was that they could only spend a couple of minutes with each doctor. So, we worked on communication skills they needed to quickly establish credibility and deliver a clear message that sparked the doctor’s interest in learning more about this breakthrough treatment.
You can also pursue Regulatory Affairs roles where you would work closely with the scientists at your company and at the FDA to help orchestrate the review and approval of a new drug or device. A deep knowledge of science can be a bonus in Corporate Communications roles too, especially when you have the skills to simplify the complex and tell a compelling story.
Even if you don’t pursue career options like these, you can still put your communication skills to use by offering to partner with colleagues who hold these roles to bring them the benefit of your strengths as a scientist. I can think of several Corporate Communications leaders who would have appreciated an internal ‘go-to’ resource with the ability to succinctly and accurately explain the science.
Q: Is there anything you want to add as we end this conversation?
Amy – As you can tell, I think it pays to learn to be a highly effective communicator. I know what a difference it makes to career success. In today’s world, where people are so connected, and relationships are key to getting things done, your ability to express yourself clearly, succinctly and confidently can mean the difference between earning a reputation for excellence in your field or being overlooked. I love helping people discover what I’ve long believed: Words matter!
Author:
For forty years, Amy Aines has helped innovators choose and use words to get results. She is a communications strategist and speaker coach with a passion for teaching STEM professionals what to say to land the job and make a bigger impact with their work. Amy is co-author of the “how to” book: Championing Science – Communicating Your Ideas to Decision Makers and founder of Talking STEM, a communication skills-building program for researchers, scientists and engineers. Reach Amy at amy@championingscience.com, connect on LinkedIn or join Talking STEM on Facebook.
Editors:
Amrita Anand is in her 4th year of Ph.D. in Genetics and Genomics at the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. She studies the reprogramming potential of certain key factors in the regeneration of mouse inner ear hair cells. She has been actively pursuing Science communication over the last three years as she enjoys bridging the gap between scientists and non-experts. As an editor, she wants to make science more accessible to the public and also hopes the hard work behind the science gets due credit.
Roopsha Sengupta is the Editor-in-Chief at ClubSciWri. She did her Ph.D. at the Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna, and postdoctoral research at the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, UK, specializing in the field of Epigenetics. During her research, she was involved in many exciting discoveries and had the privilege of working and collaborating with a number of inspiring scientists. As an editor for ClubSciWri, she loves working on a wide range of topics and presenting articles coherently, while nudging authors to give their best.
.
Illustrator:
Disha Chauhan did her Ph.D. in IRBLLEIDA, University of Lleida, Spain in Molecular and Developmental Neurobiology. She has post-doctoral experience in Cell Biology of Neurodegenerative diseases and is actively seeking a challenging research position in academia/industry. Apart from Developmental Neurobiology, she is also interested in Oncology. She is passionate about visual art (Illustration, painting, and photography) and storytelling through it. She enjoys reading, traveling, hiking, and is also dedicated to raising scientific awareness about Cancer. Follow her on Instagram.
Saurabh Gayali recently completed his Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology from National Institute of Plant Genome Research (JNU), New Delhi. Currently he is DBT RA at IGIB (New Delhi) and his research focuses on finding binding associations of Indian plant metabolites with human pathogen proteins, creating a platform for future plant extract based drug discovery. He has keen interest in data analysis, visualization and database management. He is a skilled 2D/3D designer with a specific interest in scientific illustration. In leisure, Saurabh plays guitar and composes music, does photography or practices programming. Follow him on Instagram.
——————————————————————————————————————–
The contents of Club SciWri are the copyright of Ph.D. Career Support Group for STEM PhDs (A US Non-Profit 501(c)3, PhDCSG is an initiative of the alumni of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The primary aim of this group is to build a NETWORK among scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs).
This work by Club SciWri is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
