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Welcome to Econnect Communication’s September-October 2004 newsletter. We attended the Australian Science Communicators conference from 27-29 September on the Gold Coast. This issue includes ideas from our favourite sessions at the conference. If you have any feedback or ideas you’d like to add to our newsletter, we’d love to hear from you – especially if you have inspiring things to contribute to our next month’s edition. Regards, Econnect Communication Jenni Metcalfe, Michelle Riedlinger, Terri Telford
September-October 2004 What is a science communicator? By Jenni Metcalfe What did you say? By Michelle Riedlinger You have been placed on my e-newsletter list... By Michelle Riedlinger Develop a web to rival Spiderman’s… By Terri Telford Contact UsWhat is a science communicator?By Jenni Metcalfe I managed to set the cat amongst the pigeons at the ASC Conference when I suggested that perhaps it was a problem that almost one third of those responding to a survey did not think ‘science communication’ was different to ‘public relations’ (see http://www.econnect.com.au/news_papers.htm for a copy of the draft paper on the survey).I think my concerns about science communication versus PR were echoed by many in the room during a parallel paper session discussing the topic of ‘science communication’. However, I think I also managed to offend others, especially those who have either trained or worked in PR! Upon reflection, perhaps PR has attracted somewhat unjustified negative perceptions about the profession.When I think of PR I think of one-way communication, targets, publics and market research – all driven by the aims of a particular organisation or corporation. On the other hand, I like to think of science communication as being about creating relationships and dialogue about science – which may not always be with the aim of promoting science for its own sake.But to be perfectly honest, those of us working for organisations or as consultants for organisations can’t avoid doing some PR and there is a lot of science that deserves and needs promotion. So yes, I must admit I do PR now and again (well actually, quite a bit!). And when first starting as a communicator with CSIRO some 15 years ago, I did look up the odd PR text book just to find out about things like writing a media release, doing an organisational newsletter, and devising a communication strategy – all things not taught in journalism.And just in case you’re interested, the survey that I conducted of 142 ‘science communicators’ across Australia found that they tended to be:• Mostly female – 61%• Between ages of 26-35 – 38%• With a science degree – 79%• Doing a mix of part (45%) and full-time work (49%)• Earning $40-60K (34%) or less than $20K (27%)• Mostly working for a science organisation (36%)Some interesting ideas emerged from this session about training science communicators. Some participants suggested training should include:• Looking at the cultural contexts of science and how it fits into society• History and philosophy of science – reviewing the “scientific method’• Methods for creating debate about science• Techniques for devising appropriate communication strategiesWhat did you say?By Michelle Riedlinger Have you ever left a meeting worried that it was not really as productive as you had hoped? Perhaps, some of the quieter people had insightful things to say, but they never said them. Decisions seemed to be made by acclamation, but you were not sure if everyone agreed or only the most vocal people. And, did everyone come away with common understandings?There is always more to learn about facilitating a group discussion or meeting. Will Rifkin's Facilitation Skills Workshop at the ASC Conference emphasised 'room to grow' for me.The key points I came away with were:1. Demonstrating an idea or concept beats telling people about it hands down (prepare, prepare, prepare!)2. Get group members involved in collecting information or organising activities to encourage their 'buy-in' to the gathering3. Repeat (paraphrase) what is said by each person in the meeting so that they feel heard and the group can hear and understand the point madeSuch strategies help facilitators to provide a safe and accessible 'space' for participants to speak.I've realised I need to approach facilitating meetings and workshops in a different way for this to happen. Things I'll be thinking about when I prepare are:1. Provide the group with the agenda at the start of the meeting/workshop; that lets them know literally what my agenda is, which helps them to feel more comfortable2. Ask permission from the group before you do something, e.g., "How does that sound, discussing topic A now, and waiting until after lunch to discuss topic B?"3. Conduct an unusual icebreaker activity, one that enables everyone to speak right at the start of the meeting, reveal something intriguing about themselves (eg., their first pet's name), and learn a bit about the others in the group; start by having them talk to their 'neighbour', then to the group as a whole.4. Keep it fresh and entertaining (the 'entertainer' values the audience's attention, whereas many 'presenters' seem not to care)5. Use prompts to guide the group through an exercise, e.g., ask questions such as, "What else happened while you were chatting?"6. Use silence, such as pauses, to get people thinking; pauses can enable 'quieter' members to be more active by giving them a chance to 'get a word in edgewise' when vocal participants might dominate the floor7. Create a calm space for interaction by acting calm yourself (my biggest challenge!)8. Delegate authority to the group so that they don't look to you for answers - let the information come from them.9. Improve your whiteboard handwriting legibility; if you have sloppy handwriting, use a large whiteboard and large lettering to improve readability or ask a participant to write on the board for you10. If you are not a quiet person, start acting as though you are to help. That will calm the excited members of the audience but still leave them air time to participate, and it will welcome the quieter ones to the floor. Everyone will feel as though they have been listened to.You have been placed on my e-newsletter list...By Michelle Riedlinger Not being one to trawl through policy documents for light night-time reading, I've never really got a handle on the intricacies of the Privacy Act.But participants at Louise Ralph’s ASC e-newsletter workshop were concerned with how the Privacy Act is interpreted when collecting and storing people's information in order to email them.Today I called the Privacy Commissioner's Office Hotline (1300 363 992) and found out that it is mostly Federal Government Agencies and businesses contracted by Federal Government Agencies that are covered under the act.Federal government agencies SHOULD have a privacy contact officer but you can always call Megan on the Privacy Hotline (number above) as she is very helpful.Businesses with an annual turnover of $3 million or trading personal information i.e. buying or selling contacts, are also covered by the act but anyone else can go to town.Even so, the act is up for review and one of the main areas they are looking at is who should be covered by the act that isn't. It might be a good idea to get used to adhering to the most basic guidelines now.Hotline Megan told me that the main things to do are to tell people when you collect their information what you want it for and how you are going to use it. Store it securely and respect the privacy of your contacts.Anyway, you CAN say, "You have been placed on my newsletter list, if you want to get off please unsubscribe" so don't get cranky at people who do this.If you have more of an attention span than me you can take a look at the information sheets athttp://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/IS12_01.htmlhttp://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/IS1_01.htmlThese deal with who is and isn't covered by the act.If you are a Federal Government Department employee, take a look at the Information Privacy Principles 1 - 11 at:http://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/index.html#GIf you are still worried about this you can also look at the State privacy legislation:http://www.privacy.gov.au/privacy_rights/laws/index.htmlHappy contact collecting!Develop a web to rival Spiderman’sBy Terri TelfordA quick sling across the web will show you that there are many horrible websites out there. If someone visits your site and it’s not up to scratch, they simply won’t return. Yvette Nielsen’s workshop on web writing at the ASC conference included many useful tips for developing an easy to use website that will ensure visitors keep coming back. 1. Define the purpose of the site (is it educational, entertaining, sales-driven?) and set goals (perhaps related to server statistics such as number and type of visits and the amount of time people spend on the site) 2. Identify audience and needs (you can conduct surveys to find out what people want to get from your site) 3. Competitive analysis (what is your competition doing with their website?) 4. List content and functional requirements (brainstorm – be creative) 5. Define site structure (draft a site map showing links) 6. Define navigation (consider how people will find their way around your site) 7. Create a working skeleton, test with users and refine 8. Create a visual prototype, test and refine 9. Upload site and promote (people can’t use your spiffy new site it if they don’t know it’s there…) 10. Monitor server statistics, respond to feedback quickly and update And don’t be afraid to overhaul the site entirely as your organisation changes! You can find more tips and enrol in one of Yvette’s workshops at her website www.brizcomm.com.au Contact UsEconnect Communication works with science, environment, ecotourism and natural resource management agencies to:
Contact us: phone 07 3846 7111; email admin@econnect.com.au Website: http://www.econnect.com.au New tips: http://www.econnect.com.au/news_qt.htm Subscribe/unsubscribe: send email to admin@econnect.com.au with “subscribe” or “unsubscribe” in subject line. View past newsletters: http://www.econnect.com.au/news_newsletter.htm
© Econnect Communication Pty Ltd, 2004 Articles in this newsletter can be reproduced if Econnect Communication Pty Ltd is acknowledged as the source
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