ASBHM 2024 Events

The Scientific Programming Committee has organised one inspiring workshop that will appeal to all ASBHM2024 delegates, regardless of career stage. We are doing things a little differently this year and will be having the workshop in the afternoon of Thursday 8th February. 

We have been lucky enough to secure Bianca Frew, the communications advisor from CSIRO, to facilitate a workshop on ‘communicating our research to the media‘. Bianca is an expert when it comes to communicating complex and scientific research findings to various media outlets and platforms. This workshop will therefore teach and provide ASBHM2024 delegates practical skills for communicating research via television, radio, print (e.g., The Conversation, blogs), social media and other media outlets.

Bianca is a communications professional with 20 years’ experience working across numerous communications disciplines including advertising, public relations, media management and crisis management, predominantly in health and science related organisations. 

Being able to communicate your research has value for your science impact and professional brand, but also greatly impacts more broadly the communities trust in scientists.

There are many aspects to how you can communicate your research including understanding your audience and adapting your key messages, especially when communicating with non-scientist, your delivery and adapting to the medium you are communicating in as well as media monitoring pre and post.

This workshop will include:

• An overview of the values of strong communication, a case study about how to build trust and humanise science.
• We will then work in groups to refine and define key messages for a piece of work that you have been involved with. These will be tested in small groups and refined.
• After a short break, we will come back together and critically analyse some examples of scientists sharing their key messages in print, radio and on television.
• At the end of the session, we will break back into groups to role play interviews.
• In the final session, tricks and tips, we will go through tips and tricks for curly questions.
• At the very end of the day, a few (brave) volunteers will undertake a life interview and we will put our learning into practice.

Pre-workshop materials:

No required readings, however, if you have time, take a look at some impactful ways science stories have been shared in an engaging way:

Blythe Star shipwreck found 50 years later!

How an African herbal tea launched a revolutionary line of medicine!

I encourage you to bring along any examples of a piece of science communication outside of your field that you engaged with – if we have time we can discuss why it has impact and what you think drew you into consuming the story.

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION HAS NOW CLOSED.