1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Have you ever noticed a look of confusion or a glazed eye when you explain to relatives, friends, colleagues, administrators, or someone you’ve just met at a party what you, as a plant pathologist, do for a living? Have you ever been frustrated by public skepticism in popular media about technology and science? Have you ever struggled when trying to convince someone about the need for increasing public funding for the plant sciences? How effective are you at talking about the value of science, technology and policies based on good science for solving the grand challenges of our time, like providing enough food, fuel, fiber and forests for 9 billion people by 2040? Are you like many APS members, in finding it challenging to talk to anyone outside your immediate circle of collaborators about what you do, why you do it, and why it’s important to the rest of the world?
To support you in becoming a more effective, confident advocate for science and the discipline of plant pathology, APS President Carol Ishimaru presents the Center for Communicating Science in an interactive presentation focused on speaking to the public about science. Developed in 2009 by Alan Alda and Stony Brook University's School of Journalism, the CCS has developed innovative courses and workshops that help scientists engage with their audience in clear and vivid language, with attention to story-telling techniques. The session will contain demonstrations by APS members who participated in a special workshop on Improvisation for Scientists, as well as full-group involvement in detangling technical materials and making the message clear, engaging, and effective to a range of listeners. Unlike a typical public speaking course, all materials developed by the CCS focus the participant's attention to the listener, rather than the speaker, lifting the scientists out of "lecture mode" and into a two-way path to real, effective communication.
Come, have fun, and gain new skills you will surely find useful!