Stand up for Science: Practical Approaches to Discussing Science that Matters

Information about Joe Cialdella

What is your name, title, and role at the University of Michigan?

Joe Cialdella, Program Manager for Public Scholarship, University of Michigan. As leader of the Rackham Program in Public Scholarship, my role is to support graduate students seeking to share their research and skills with public audiences and create collaborative projects in partnership with communities and organizations outside of U-M, in Southeast Michigan and beyond. This is done through grants, programs, and workshops throughout the year. The program helps interested students broaden their professional development and expertise by learning the best ways to engage with and reach communities outside the academy.

Joe Cialdella on Audience

Who do you interact with when working in education and/or outreach? What makes this audience different from other groups that you might interact with? What are the challenges and rewards of working with these individuals?

Part of my role is to be a link between students’ interests and the wider communities and organizations they are interested in working with through their education. So I interact with students here at U-M from all disciplines and staff of community based and cultural organizations such as museums, libraries, and other cause-focused nonprofits outside U-M. It can be challenging to navigate between these different audiences, because they often have different goals and ways of communicating information. But when both begin to work together and see what each has to offer, it’s exciting to see the energy and new forms of knowledge that take shape when academics connect with and learn from the public audiences and staff of museums and cultural organizations.

What suggestions do you have for making interactions with educators, learners, and/or lay-audiences as effective as possible?

From my time working in museums, one of the most effective guiding principles I picked up was to think in terms of making the familiar unfamiliar and the unfamiliar familiar. That is to say, the best audiences are engaged when you aim meet them where they are and help to transform the way the understand and see the world.

Joe Cialdella on Messaging

When you’re planning to interact with educators, learners, and/or lay-audiences, how do you decide what you want to focus on? If a scientist wanted a single idea to “stick” in the mind of an educator, learner, and/or lay-audience, what advice would you give them as to how best to shape/pitch that idea?

When I want to convey complex topics and concepts, I’ve learned to begin with one “big idea” (i.e. what’s the big idea that makes this project important to those outside of academia). This helps make the information “stick,” especially if you keep referring back to the “big idea” as you go into more detail. Since people usually have a lot going on in their work and personal lives, it helps to make your message as clear and concise as possible, which takes a lot of time and practice. Using multiple forms of communication is also key to engaging people who learn in different ways – for example, being able to talk about a topic clearly and concisely should paired with supplemental visuals, handouts, and digital outreach as well. I also find it helpful to use your “big idea” to link different forms of communication. For example, the way you talk about your work should also be reflected on your website, printed materials, etc. so that there is one clear, coherent message and way of talking about it. Personal connections always help information “stick,” but more specifically I think personal connections to places are especially important. Much of the work we do through the Program in Public Scholarship is situated in particular places, and we ask students and our community partners to apply their work, skills, and knowledge in particular settings such as botanic gardens and nonprofits. If you can show the effects of your work on a place that matters to your audiences (where they live, work, or vacation, for example), it will help build connections and demonstrate the relevance of your work to their everyday lives.

Joe Cialdella on Narrative

Do you use stories or narratives as a tool to communicate with educators, learners, and/or lay-audiences? If so, what kinds of narratives? What kinds of documents or presentations are most effective at capturing and maintaining a educators’, learners’, and/or lay-audiences’ attention? Would you mind providing a few examples (both “good” and “bad”) of the same kind of document or presentation?

As someone trained in historical research who interacts with students and community partners from a variety disciplinary backgrounds, I find stories/narratives are an important communication tool. For example, stories about the effects of climate change or that demonstrate the effects of research are key to providing an emotional and an intellectual “hook” for more people to find a way into a complex and unfamiliar topic.