Posts in: Tools & Resources

“Know thy audience. Know thyself. Know thy stuff.” We offer this quote by the late Dr. Steve Schneider in COMPASS’ communication trainings as a guiding principle for scientists preparing to share their science with the wider world. Schneider, one of the first climate scientists to work as an active adviser to policymakers in the White House and federal age...

We’ve all been there. Stellar participants. A promising agenda. But within the first hour of the workshop, people to your right and left are already on their email or editing manuscripts. The first several speakers have gone over their time limits, so even the few minutes reserved for Q&A have evaporated. The moderator cancels all breaks to try to get back on...

A key aspect of being successful in making your science matter beyond the ivory tower is building relationships and knowing how to strategically navigate networks of people. Ultimately, these relationships are not about sharing data, but instead about shared connections among people. It is the trust and goodwill built up over time with colleagues, and even policyma...

In order to bridge dissimilar cultures and have effective dialogue, you have to know who you’re talking to. At COMPASS, we often talk about the similarities between scientists and journalists – for example, they share a love for discovery, healthy skepticism, analytical minds, and competitive natures – in order for them to meet on common ground before explain...

Lately, we’ve heard a lot about why scientists find it challenging to connect their science to broader dialogues. But influences external to academic culture may be contributing in equal measure to this frustration. Sweeping changes in the field of science journalism – the medium through which science has traditionally been shared with the broader public – ar...

COMPASS often asks scientists, “Where do you get your news?” The answers are typicallythe same – they listen to NPR, read the New York Times, and watch theDaily Show. Fair enough! NPR was the exclusive soundtrack to my years at the lab bench, what about you?

This word cloud represents answers from 170 researchers who participated in COMPASS trainings ...