Last spring, I was an undergraduate student in an inaugural course called Communicating Psychological Science. At first, I was a little apprehensive about speaking out to my peers about psychological topics, but eventually, I became accustomed to the weekly routine of it and learned to enjoy it. My apprehension, perhaps like many undergraduates, was that I didn’t have enough experience speaking in front of others. While that is a valid fear, it is important to realize that most work in the field of psychology requires the ability to communicate effectively.
As the next generation of those entering into the field of psychology, we should know that there is room for improvement for how psychology is communicated to the public. Psychology has not always been communicated well in the past, whether as a result of jargon-heavy work and complicated methodology or because messages are distorted by the time they reach the public. If you are a former or current student of psychology, you may be thinking back to opportunities you had to communicate your first research in a research methods class. While research methods classes are a good introduction to the core principles of psychological research, they rarely provide the opportunity or the time to communicate those findings effectively. Many universities do not offer courses that focus on communicating psychological science effectively. But hopefully, that will change in the near future as schools recognize this gap in their curriculum.
Some of the most beneficial aspects of the course were also some of the most enjoyable and readily applicable to my future in the field of Psychology. Here is a list of what I most valued about the course:
- Learning how to effectively communicate psychological topics that many people not in psychology might not fully understand.
- Discovering novel ways to improve my academic writing so that it is more engaging and easier to comprehend.
- Learning the importance of connecting with my audience in order to communicate a topic effectively.
A reoccurring activity done in class was to “pitch” information on psychological topics. This pitch activity took on a variety of forms:
- varying the length of the pitch from 30 seconds to two minutes,
- using a story framework to discuss the topic,
- and practicing to connect with an audience using empathy.
Briefly communicating a topic is important because the goal is to get the presenter to relay an idea, while only talking about the most crucial points. This is important because a listener’s attention can be better maintained throughout a short and interesting pitch. Another one of the most important tools for being successful with a pitch is realizing the importance of a story. Having confidence in the story you are weaving into your pitch helps not only to relate more to your audience, but it also keeps the subject interesting to listeners.
My classmates had many of the same remarks on what the class impressed upon them, but they also had different experiences that affected them. As the semester weeks went on and the Minnesota snow on campus began to build up, I saw the impressive growth of my peers in their communication skills. At the end of the semester, my classmates and I highlighted some of the main benefits of the course, and here are just a few:
- Having more confidence in our ability to communicate
- Reaching a deeper connection with their audience through practice
- Developing a good storyline in a presentation
- Having the courage to try out new concepts
Overall, coursework in Communicating Psychological Science has improved my understanding of how important it is to be scientifically literate when looking at psychological research and how to communicate a psychological topic to my target audience better. It is important to note that scientific illiteracy is more prevalent than one might think. Scientific illiteracy is any case where a person with a scientific background either presents bad research (i.e., jargon-heavy, incorrect scientific method), they present the research in a lackluster way so that its meaning is muddled.
Communicating psychological science effectively requires a lot of work. Vigorous work went into writing several blog assignments; each required several opportunities to edit, including peer review. My classmates never had to edit a document so many times in their other psychology classes! The editing process had a great payoff, as each student selected one blog to appear on the department’s blog site – Communicating Psychological Science. Our final videotaped pitches required just as much work, and a bit more nerve than blog writing. These two-minute pitches called for almost tedious practice. We worked hard to capture audience attention and developed the type of self-discipline need while speaking in front of a camera. The final result was a news-report style pitch taped in a media room (made to model a TV newsroom).
The need for psychologists to communicate better with the general public is evident. Communication can prove difficult for experts, as well as students, as it has not been a consistent part of psychology education. Why not start with the thousands of undergraduates taking psychology courses nation-wide? We can continue to hold the science of psychology to higher standards while being disciplined leaders among the sciences to promote correct and clear messages to the public.
To learn more about Dr. Lassonde’s 410 Comm Psych Science, download her class syllabus here.
Interested in learning how to help undergraduate students develop communication skills to promote psychological science? Check out the new website Communicating Psychological Science, which includes blogs written by faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students, and guest authors about broad topics in psychology.
