Simplifying Science: Tips for Early Career Science Communicators
Bombarding people with facts is wasting your time and could even be having the opposite of your intended effect.
Great science communication connects ideas to values, stories, and meaning.
On Ascend Your Story, science communicator Tom Carruthers shared his experiences and insights on making complex research accessible.
Here’s some ways early-career science communicators can sharpen their craft.
Lead with values, not facts
Carruthers warns that one of the biggest mistakes new communicators make is “fact bombing” – firing off statistics or technical details and expecting people to be convinced. While facts matter, they rarely inspire on their own. Instead, effective communication begins with values.
Ask yourself: Why does this science matter to people’s everyday lives?
Maybe it’s about protecting children’s health, creating jobs, or safeguarding the environment. By framing your message around values first, you give audiences a reason to listen and a context for the details that follow.
Before writing or speaking, jot down the core value your message connects to – safety, fairness, opportunity, community – and use that as your entry point.
Use stories to make meaning
As Carruthers explains, people don’t remember raw information as well as they remember stories.
When you wrap science in narrative, you transform abstract concepts into something tangible. This doesn’t mean inventing characters or drama, but rather structuring your message with a beginning, middle, and end – much like you’d explain a challenge, the work done to solve it, and the impact.
For instance, instead of saying, “Vaccines are safe,” you might tell the story of how scientists tested them over decades, how communities benefited, and how lives were saved. That arc makes the same point but with emotional weight.
Next time you explain your research, sketch it as a three-part story: the problem, the process, and the payoff.
Meet people where they are
Carruthers highlights the importance of empathy in science communication. Audiences bring their own backgrounds, fears, and assumptions. Effective communicators take the time to listen and then adapt their message to that context.
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This doesn’t mean oversimplifying to the point of distortion. It means choosing language, analogies, and examples that resonate. A technical explanation that works for policymakers may not work for high-school students, and vice versa.
Practice explaining the same idea three different ways – for a child, a peer, and a policymaker. Notice what changes and what stays constant. This will strengthen your ability to shift perspectives without losing accuracy.
Connect with people to build trust
Science communication is not just about accuracy. You need to connect with people. By grounding your message in shared values, shaping it through story, and tailoring it to your audience, you can cut through complexity and build trust.
Learn more from Dr Tom Carruthers on Ascend Your Story: