Tips for a successful Science Slam:
- Your audience is capable of understanding basic scientific concepts and doesn't want or need to be "talked down to," but they lack your specialized expertise and advanced technical and mathematical vocabulary.
- Don't dilute; distill. Communicate the essence of the science in terms that are meaningful for everyone.
- Don’t explain; evoke. Use whatever means and media will enable you to help your audience understand and appreciate what it feels like to do science, over and above the details of your research.
We recognize that giving such a presentation is an unfamiliar experience for many scientists, so we have compiled the following resources and examples to aid you in crafting your video application and your talk:
- Raychelle Burks on ‘Poisons, medicines, and communicating science’ (video)
- Story Collider featuring Erik Vance - 'Is this biology?' (podcast)
- Story Collider featuring Eli Kintisch - 'Elements' (video)
- Boaz Vilozny on the importance of stories in science – ‘What's your story?' (blog post)
- Kurt Vonnegut on the shapes of stories (video)
- Jocelyn Bosley on the ‘science slams’ concept, and ‘Science communication as performance art’ (video)
- Randy Olson on effective storytelling templates (video)
- Guillermo Orts-Gil on 'Science, Emotion, Communication!' (blog post)
Check out the 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016 Slammers!
Still have questions? Watch our helpful how-to video!