Family members of STEM types will relate deeply to this book. Their STEM-working family member can live in a different world that’s distinct from the world everyone else lives in, and they must learn to relate back to the “real world.” The problem, however, penetrates deeper than that. The public admires those in STEM fields for the braininess required for entry, but the public’s communication styles do not relate to theirs. Memes, movies, and social media posts run on different dynamics than scientific presentations. To those interested in broadening their approaches and able to do so, Randy Olson offers an opportunity to become more bilingual. This book guides its readers on how to connect with the general public better.
Olson himself led an unusual career journey. After earning a PhD from Harvard, he gained tenure at the University of New Hampshire before dropping out of academe by pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California. He spent several decades making films popularizing scientific knowledge before teaching scientists (and other professionals) how to communicate better. This book is but one of his efforts.
Accurate or not, a stereotypical scientist’s persona is well known – pontificating, arrogant, and demeaning to those not engaged in its work. This book guides through six chapters on topics like how to listen better, how to be less literal, and how to be more likeable. These simple practices can help raise science’s position in the global community at a time when many question whether science is needed at all. Works like Olson’s push history’s needle forward so that science can retain – or restore – a respected place in society.
This book is simultaneously deep, enlightening, fun, and engaging. It succeeds in escaping the dynamic of “watering science down” by enhancing the dynamic of effective, narrative-based communication. It introduces the ABT (and, but, therefore) framework as a replacement, a subject of Olson’s many other books. I’m glad a colleague helped me stumble upon this book and hope to read others in Olson’s canon. To flourish, or even to survive, science must engage with the public better, and communication skills, such as those taught by Olson, must shine the way forward.
Don’t Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style
By Randy Olson
2nd Edition
Copyright (c) 2018
Island Press
ISBN13 9781610919173
Page Count: 234
Genre: Scientific Communication
www.amazon.com