10 reasons to learn science communication skills

Paula Silva

Feb 20, 20192 min read

By Ana Araújo, Helena Sousa e Sara Bastos

Science communication plays a big role in a scientist’s life so it’s important to know how to communicate properly with different audiences. This being said, here you have 10 reasons to learn science communication skills:

- To refine your critical thinking

Great communicators are great thinkers. Many of the communication problems are based on the inability to think critically about a situation. People with more critical thinking have the ability to see problems from different perspectives and develop a more compelling arguments.

- Increase awareness of the value of research to society

Knowing the outcomes of a research and how it affects us is very important. Effective research communication increases public awareness and involvement. Having access to the correct information presented in a simple and understandable way allows the whole community (scientific and non-scientific) to actively participate in a conversation and make more informed decisions.

- Additional funding

Being able to communicate the relevance and impact of your ideas and findings effectively, creatively, and clearly to a broad audience, can increase the likelihood of getting funding, establishing a new collaboration, or finding a great job.

- Be able to allow more informed decision-making

Good communication skills can help to make conscious and informed decisions from a governmental to an individual level. It could help in policy and decision making and also save time and money.

- Be able to increase public’s interest for science

No one can be interested in a thing that doesn’t understand. So, effective and understandable communication, is essential to increase public’s interest for science.

This interest will allow better and more informed decision, will help fundraise and support for the research and last but not the least, can make science more diverse and inclusive.

- To allow collaborations or new insights into the scientist's work

How can a scientist have new insights, point of views, constructive critics or even collaborations if no one or almost no one knows what he’s doing?

Communication with the scientific world will improve decision making and problem solving, can make science more representative and applicable worldwide.

-Influence policy making process

Since information is involved in every step of the policy making process, it’s crucial that the communication of said information is both clear and credible. Also, the information must be useful, because the public policy work is, generally, burdened with information and time schedules are strict.

-Improved research quality and impact

Good research quality affects not only the scientific world, but also the society. Communication has a vital role in research in many aspects, including publishing. For scientific literature to be understandable to peers and public, scientists should be able to write better and more comprehensible research papers, a task made easier by developing communication skills.

-Personal satisfaction

Lastly, science communication is a great way to connect with other people and to share your research with them, and the enthusiasm you receive by doing so can increase your motivation.

On the other hand, it provides different points of view about the research and also about your identity as a science communicator.

For these reasons and many others, to be a successful scientist you must be an effective communicator!

(images from http://phdcomics.com/ by Jorge Cham)