Championing Science shows scientists how to persuasively communicate complex scientific ideas to decision makers in government, industry, and education. This comprehensive guide provides real-world strategies to help scientists develop the essential communication, influence, and relationship-building skills needed to motivate nonexperts to understand and support their science. Instruction, interviews, and examples demonstrate how inspiring decision makers to act requires scientists to extract the essence of their work, craft clear messages, simplify visuals, bridge paradigm gaps, and tell compelling narratives. The authors bring these principles to life in the accounts of science champions such as Robert Millikan, Vannevar Bush, scientists at Caltech and MIT, and others. With Championing Science, scientists will learn how to use these vital skills to make an impact.

About the Author

Roger D. Aines is Chief Scientist of the Energy Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Amy L. Aines is Founder and CEO of Damianakes Communications. Throughout her career she has helped scientists and technologists communicate breakthrough ideas.

From Our Blog

Interview with Amy Aines, author of Championing Science

This post was originally featured on Anne Janzer's website, and has been reblogged with permission.Amy Aines is a skilled communications expert on a mission to help scientists communicate ideas that matter to people who need to hear them.Collaborating with her husband Roger Aines, Chief Scie

How to Show Up, Speak Up and Get Your Ideas Heard—Part 2

This blog post originally appeared on ChampioningScience.com and is reposted with permission from Amy L. Aines, coauthor with Roger Aines of Championing Science: Communicating Your Ideas to Decision Makers.When it comes to getting your ideas heard, the words you choose and your timing ca

How to Show Up, Speak Up and Get Your Ideas Heard

This blog post is reposted with permission from Amy L. Aines, coauthor with Roger Aines of Championing Science: Communicating Your Ideas to Decision Makers.You may be surprised to find that what you say matters less than how you say it. More than 250 attendees at the annual scholarship

List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments

PART ONE. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS FOR CHAMPIONING SCIENCE
1 Becoming a Champion
2 Self-Aware and Self-Correcting: The Key to Effective Communication
3 Extracting the Essence
4 Who’s Listening? Know Your Audience
5 Why Scientists Communicate Poorly outside Their Field

PART TWO. MECHANICS OF CHAMPIONING SCIENCE
6 The First Two Minutes: Show Your Passion
7 Crafting Key Messages and Narratives
8 The Power of Language
9 Designing Effective Visuals

PART THREE. HONING YOUR COMMUNICATION, INFLUENCE, AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE SKILLS
10 Improving Your Speaking Skills
11 Influence and Persuasion
12 Managing Your Emotions

PART FOUR. APPLYING THE CHAMPIONING SCIENCE SKILLS
13 Translations, Templates, and White Papers
14 Strategies for Creating Successful Relationships with Sponsors
15 Exercises for Applying the Championing Science Skills
16 High-Impact Examples of Championing for a Cause

Appendix: The Champion’s Bookshelf
Notes
Index

Reviews

"Aines and Aines provide many practical tips and tricks for improving science communication at all levels, from one-on-one conversations to congressional testimony. It is a process that improves with constant attention and practice. Now more than ever, we need to be more effective champions of our work. We know how to communicate with our peers; let’s use this book and its methods to extend our reach and convey the same sense of wonder and excitement we feel about the process of scientific discovery to everyone."
— Science

"A fruitful read for scientists who frequently have to deal with stakeholders."
— Conservation Biology

“Thoughtfully composed, insightful, and supportive, this book appears at a time when it’s simply not enough to communicate science effectively—we have to champion science through purposive, focused communication. The Aineses have laid out a rigorous and engaging pathway for scientists who aspire to get facts across effectively and make their voices heard clearly amid a cacophony of information. Highly recommended reading for everyone who wants to make sure that their messages land soundly and powerfully with important audiences.”—Laura Lindenfeld, Professor and Director, Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, Stony Brook University

“A wonderfully informative playbook of examples and recommendations for scientists seeking to communicate the content of their research. From the opening warning, that ‘scientists are great communicators—with other scientists,’ to the detailed assessments of how visual and other aids help or hinder the communication process, the authors have built a vitally needed resource to improve the science-society conversation. This conversation is especially needed in a sad era of ‘alternative facts’—an era that the scientific process and the authors reject.”—Daniel Kammen, Professor and Chair, Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley

“A must-read for those in the research community. Aines and Aines develop smart and clear approaches for scientists to communicate the importance of their work to those responsible for making policy and funding decisions. Their writing hits on what you think you already know and, most important, what you never before considered.”—Felice C. Frankel, MIT research scientist, science photographer, and author of Picturing Science and Engineering

About the Book