SciComCon ’25 Recap

Last weekend, I was part of a career panel for ComSciCon-Triangle. ComSciCon is a nationwide workshop series organized by graduate students, for graduate students, focused on building science communication skills. It’s super cool; I wish this had existed when I was in graduate school!

It was fun to be able to reflect on my career journey. The students asked great questions about being a science communication professional in general, as well as an entrepreneur in the field.

I wanted to share some of my responses to student questions here on the ol’ blog, in case they’re useful for other budding science communicators.

What was your science communication “ah-ha moment”?

I wrote a whole blog post about it!

How do you talk about really small or really large things in a way that’s meaningful for audiences?

I’m a big fan of using analogies and comparisons with objects or phenomena that the audience will be familiar with.

For example, my older son has a rare genetic disorder that occurs in about 1 of every 150,000 births.

If you put more than 100,000 random people in Beaver Stadium (home to Penn State’s Nittany Lions football team), statistically, there would be less than one person with Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome and seven people who have been, or eventually will be, hit by lightning in their lifetime.

There’s a whole book about how to effectively communicate quantities and sizes, called Making Numbers Count.

How do you deal with the challenge of communicating sensitive/private/confidential information?

First, you should definitely work closely with clients to be sure that you’re not communicating off-limits information.

Second, if the data are from a research study with human subjects, be sure that your communication aligns with ethical research practices and what research participants have consented to.

Third, there can be information you’re technically allowed to communicate, but if you communicate it or communicate it in the wrong way, it could be harmful. For example, I’ve collaborated with researchers studying drug and alcohol use within Indigenous populations. It’s really important that these results are communicated in ways that don’t cause further harm to people who have already experienced generations’ worth of systemic harm. In situations like these, participatory science communication can be especially helpful. That is, professional communicators can collaborate with the groups who provide data and audiences who will receive data to develop, review, revise, and share communication products. This can help to ensure that sensitive information is shared in appropriate and helpful ways. For more information about this topic, I recommend the book Getting to the Heart of Science Communication.

What advice would you give to aspiring science communicators?

Again, check out my blog post!

What’s your favorite science visual?

When I hear this question, I tend to think about data visualizations (although there are LOTS of other types of science visuals, like photography and images from devices like microscopes and medical scanners). The one that immediately came to mind was this one, on Thomas Jefferson’s veggie garden, because I like the topic, style, and practical utility. However, I have a Pinterest board of other charts and graphs I like. I also wrote a blog post about some impressive data art.

How do you use AI in your work?

Short answer: I don’t. I have yet to find a task I routinely do that AI can do better or faster. (More details on the blog!) But, this could change as AI improves.

What social media do you use for your business?

For business purposes, we’re on LinkedIn (Lori, Data Soapbox) and Bluesky. We share business content in both places. LinkedIn is more of a place for us to connect with potential clients, and Bluesky is more of a source for thought leadership and inspiration.

What are the best and worst things about being an entrepreneur?

Worst: Not having a fixed salary or benefits.

Best: Everything else! As long as it’s the right thing for my clients, I can take on the types and amounts of work I want, and do that work when, where, and how I want. Autonomy for the win!

Interested in learning more about science communication? In case the message didn’t already come through (wink!), there’s more on our blog.