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When the English prime minister William Gladstone asked scientist Michael Faraday what the usefulness of his electromagnetic device was, Faraday replied, "Someday you can tax it."
This example shows how a scientist sold what must have seemed an esoteric discovery of the time to a curious prime minister who failed to grasp the utility of electromagnetism. What's also fascinating is that this anecdote is doubtful, as it only popped up well after Faraday's death and Gladstone didn't first become prime minister until the year after Faraday died.
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How to sell science today
This anecdote is important for two reasons; firstly, it shows that more esoteric and ground-breaking research is hard to sell to decision and policymakers unless you can demonstrate its future utility. Second, it proves something another British prime minister, Winston Churchill, said; "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." The truth is that the scientific community needs to communicate better with the public and policy makers if they want more funding and social licence. Good storytelling trumps the truth, but truthful good storytelling drives real change and defeats false narratives.
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A message from Einstein
Einstein developed his general theory of relativity without the aid of private and government support; however, solutions like GPS would not have been possible without his work. Few scientists can do their work without funding and other forms of support, which is why communication is vital to the science community. Biotech, health, and other sources of research and R&D need to communicate to a broad and diverse audience to succeed.
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Ted Talk graveyard of ideas
Professor of Intellectual History at the European University Institute, Nicolas Guilhot referred to Ted Talk's archive as a 'graveyard of ideas'. He observed that many of the amazing ideas shared by experts in their fields through Ted Talks never reached the places of 'power and profit' as they did not engage this audience. Much of the communication with science takes place in an echo chamber, where like-minded academics share their findings; however, this does little to advance the support for the sciences. To make real change happen requires access to a much larger and less engaged targeted audience. The Ted Talks example is a lesson why the scientific community needs to develop better ways to engage with the media.
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Engaging the disengaged
Policymakers, potential investors, the media, and the public are (for the most part) disinterested in the majority of the scientific community's work. They do become interested when it impacts their lives or the lives of the people they love. Medical breakthroughs capture attention, but most people are tired of scientific announcements, as they are vague and the real-world impacts too far into the future. The science world needs to learn to communicate in ways that make it simpler for people to understand while managing expectations. Rather than make big statements every few years, the science community needs to use tools like online newsrooms to develop a dialogue with the media and build relationships with individual journalists. This increases the media's knowledge base and drives more suitable types of content.
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When you want something done correctly, go to an expert
Just as scientists are experts in their respective fields, Journalists are expert storytellers. Access to journalists who are specialists in scientific matters is now limited; however, there is now a much broader audience who can cover scientific news. Many scientists and researchers may not understand that the average journalists now have four beats. Those beats may be as diverse as business, government, science, and human interest. Scientific innovation can appeal to an even more diverse group of journalists if the material is contextualised around real-world impacts.
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Build trust in the media
The media have been burnt with premature or even false stories of scientific innovation. As such, they are sceptical about many sources. By building an online newsroom of stories, ideas, research materials, images, and videos, you can create long term trust with journalists and enlist them to your cause. Online newsroom solutions like Lookatmedia™ attract and connect with a broader and more diverse media audience. Through these connections, you can create and maintain conversations in the media about what you do and why you do it. Through increased media exposure, you can bring more financial support and influence policymakers' views, furthering your mission and enhancing the positive role of science in society.
