By Shane M. Hanlon The Sharing Science Program at AGU encompasses all of the resources and opportunities needed to help scientists effectively communicate with broader audiences—including journalists, educators and students, policy makers, and the public—about Earth and space science and its importance. Our greatest efforts are concentrated on our annual meeting where we hold and facilitate a number of events. This year was our most successful year to date in …

This is the second in a three-part series answering scientists’ frequently-asked questions about working with the media. This FAQ series accompanies the Working with the Media webinar, offered by AGU’s Sharing Science program on May 29. 1. How should I prepare for an interview? When a reporter contacts you to schedule an interview, find out what the format will be. Is it an in-person, phone, radio or TV interview? Who is the person doing the interview? About how long will it be? If it’s for TV or radio, is the interview being taped or is it live? Then, write and rehearse your key messages – the main thoughts you want to share during the interview. Practice repeating them until you can rattle off the essentials but don’t memorize them word-for-word.

By Ilissa Ocko The canonical rule of thumb for scientists speaking to nonscientists is to talk as if you were speaking to eighth graders, because a lay audience often has a basic, and certainly not specialized, understanding of science – about the same level as an eighth grader. If you want the information to resonate with the non-scientist audience, you have to strip down to the essentials, craft a story, …

Abstracts are the quintessential means of getting the gist of your research out there to other scientists. But what if you want to reach a broader audience? What if you want to give your abstract that extra oomph that will combine its scientific rigor with some artistic creativity? Why, in that case you artify your abstract!

You don’t need fancy software like Adobe Illustrator to create a nice science visual. You can create a graphic in basic, accessible software, such as Microsoft PowerPoint.

The PDF below walks you through the creation process from start to finish, with the objective of creating the below landscape schematic using PowerPoint. Learn tools and insider tips along the way! (Click on the link or the image below to open the PDF.)

More than two decades of studying science has taught me one very important lesson, and it is much simpler than thermodynamics, calculus, or general relativity.

I love graphics.