Introduction
You've spent years building an academic vocabulary that impresses your peers. Great for journal articles, not so great for everyone else. When you talk to industry folks or even your family about your work, they tune out. They’ll probably mention that they wish they were as smart as you, but they won’t understand the impact of your work. They won’t really get it until you start speaking their language, so the connection is never made. But you want to connect and be valued, just like everyone else!
This isn't just annoying—it's holding your career back. PhDs who can translate their expertise for different audiences get more opportunities outside academia. Simple as that.
This section will help you drop jargon without dumbing down your work. You'll learn to:
- Figure out what different audiences actually need to know
- Tell compelling stories about your research
- Get people interested in your work without sacrificing accuracy
Exercise: Audience-Centered Storytelling Matrix
Introduction: It’s easy to forget how far we are inside of the box after spending so many years thinking about only one field. The lines get blurry in trying to understand what people might know, what they don’t, and when you might come off as speaking down to someone. Here, we’re going to pull out the key pieces of our research and learn to tell them in a narrative that anyone can understand, and that sticks the landing for them in understanding how important the research is.
Exercise Components:
- Core Concept Extraction Let’s begin by pulling out some of the core concepts of what makes our research special, and why it matters. Use this prompt with your chosen LLM, and feel free to upload documents like puplished research articles, abstracts, and more:
Context: I am a PhD researcher in [your field] and you are to act as a scientific communications expert. I am going to explain my research to you and your job is to help me extract the key points for an audience outside of my field to have an ‘aha’ moment and to understand my work. [Explain work here, copy paste relevant material, or upload publications, etc] Help me identify 3-5 core concepts from my research that would feel impactful for a general audience. These should be foundational ideas rather than specific methodologies or findings. For each concept: 1. Describe the concept in non-academic terms 2. Explain why this concept might matter to the general public 3. Suggest one potential application outside my field and create a metaphor to help frame the application
- Audience Mapping
Next, we’ll cater to specific audiences. Think of 3-4 distinct audiences you might need to communicate with during your career transition. For each type, we’re going to create a plan of how to deliver information that matters to them.
Use this prompt in the same thread as the one above to help generate a communication plan with an LLM:
Context: I'm a PhD in [field] who studies [brief research description]. I need to create a compelling narrative about my research for [specific audience type]. Help me craft a brief narrative that: 1. Opens with a hook relevant to this audience 2. Frames the problem in terms they care about 3. Presents a clear narrative arc with appropriate technical detail 4. Integrates evidence without overwhelming 5. Ends with an impact statement relevant to their interests 6. Positions me appropriately (confident but not overreaching) Audience background: [describe their knowledge level and priorities] My research concept: [explain the concept briefly, if in a new LLM chat]