How to make science sexy

Spoiler: it’s hard, but not as hard as you think.

I’m not a scientist, but I work with lots of them. And when I first get in a room and ask, “What do you do?” — and they start rattling off in what feels like another language — 9/10 times I have Google open and I’m frantically searching every second word just to keep up with them.

So, the following advice is for my fellow comms folks out there — scientists & researchers, you might want to look away. Here’s my quick guide to unpacking scientific jargon and making science sexy (because it absolutely is!).

1. Be curious and do your due diligence

Before you even step into a room with a scientist or deep tech company, do your homework. They aren’t expecting you to be experts (we’re the comms people, they know that!), but do them the courtesy of being curious. Come prepared with informed questions and at least a baseline understanding of their field. Trust me, they’ll appreciate the effort.

2. Reframe your questions

When I start working with any science-founded or deep tech company, step one is onboarding with the team to learn about the company — this is where you start to unpack their narrative. But oftentimes, the people you’re chatting with are used to telling their story one way — the “science” way. So challenge them to approach it from different angles.

As an exercise, I often ask them to explain their work from various perspectives. For example, when interviewing a researcher working on an ag-tech innovation, I’ll ask: “How would you explain this to a farmer?” Then, “Now how would you explain it to a local government rep?” This technique will give you all the information you need to extract the most relevant parts of the story, and hopefully unearth some golden nuggets along the way.

3. AI is helpful, but watch out for nuance

Throwing a research paper into an AI model and asking it to spit out an explanation for a 5-year-old can be helpful, but it doesn’t always capture the nuance. And most times, the results will make the scientists’ eyes bug out. Use AI sparingly and wisely. Always go back to the source (i.e., the scientist) and check if the simplified version still holds up.

4. Test and learn, iterate — Test the hypothesis

Messaging and communications is a fluid discipline. It’s NEVER set in stone, and let’s be real — when we’re trying new storytelling tactics, they don’t always resonate. So learn from what sticks, and evolve the messaging as the science or company evolves. Think of it like the scientific method: hypothesis, test, analyse, adjust, repeat.

Remember, your job isn’t to dumb down the science — it’s to make it accessible and exciting for your target audience. And when you get it right, that’s when science becomes truly sexy.

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Need more tips or have questions? Feel free to email me at [email protected]. 🖖

Want to know more about deep tech? Check out this story.