Understanding Your Audience — The First Step in Communicating Science
Welcome to the first installment of my new series: Translating Science: The Art of Communicating Complex Ideas.
Picture this. You’re standing on stage at an international biotech conference, about to give your presentation. A diverse group of the scientific community sits before you. Some of them are veteran researchers and bioengineers with decades of experience. Others are new lab technicians fresh out of college. Still, others are business stakeholders and investors intrigued by the prospects of a drug breakthrough. Each of them has their own distinct perspective. Each of them has different levels of scientific comprehension.
It’s up to the communicators that exist in every scientific organization to decipher complex information for this diverse audience. We communicate scientific ideas by transforming abstruse language into clear and concise messaging through various methods.
But before the methods of communication can be considered, we must define who the message is for. To do so, we must understand the perspectives and needs of our audience. In this article, I will explore the various audiences one commonly finds in scientific discourse, especially within the biotech industry. Then we’ll discuss some ideas for adjusting your messaging depending on the audience category you are targeting. But first, let’s start with a refresher on why this is all worth the effort.
The Importance of Knowing Your Audience
Communicating scientific content without identifying your audience type can be like screaming into the wind. No matter how well-crafted your message is, the right people cannot hear it. Or, even worse, they might ignore it because the perspective doesn’t align with their outlook and needs.
It’s also important to recognize the symbiotic relationship that exists between scientific organizations and their audience. In the best circumstances, when our messaging is on target, we can learn from the audience as much as they learn from us. Their feedback can tell us a lot about their interests and help us to turn our one-way communication into ongoing interactions and conversations — thus, boosting engagement.
However, when we fail to know our audience or ignore their knowledge level, we run into problems. For a moment, let’s pretend that you are a biotech business professional working to get funding for your startup and are in the midst of a presentation to your investors. As you provide an overview of the molecule that you have in development, your enthusiasm for the research grabs hold, and you dive into deeper details than is necessary. This eats up your presentation time. Unfortunately for you, the investors walk away knowing more of the technical details of the molecule than they needed to know. Yet, they do not understand the ROI (return on investment) or competitive edge that your technology would offer the market. Because of this missed opportunity, your funding falls through because your investors were not convinced of your value.
This is the reality we face as communicators when we fail to understand our audience. No matter how elegant your message may be, it will be ignored or misunderstood if it’s delivered to the wrong people in the wrong fashion. Sometimes we consider defining our audience as part of our communication strategy. But really, this step is the foundation for effective communication in general.
Different Audience Types in Science Communications
The first takeaway you should have is that your audience is not monolithic. It really is like an orchestra. The scientists are like the brass section, and the business professionals are like your strings, with students and college graduates making up your woodwinds and percussion. Each produces its own unique sound, but they also have the potential to come together for one harmonized experience. So to truly master communicating with these individuals, you need to act as a skilled composer, creating the melodies that will resonate with all of them.
To get more specific, here are the typical audience types you can find in science communication:
Experts. These are seasoned scientists, researchers, and academics. They appreciate the complexities of the content, and when communicating with them, you can be much more technical and detailed.
Stakeholders. These are the individuals with a vested business interest in the data. They are the business professionals that make up any biotech organization. They can also be the investors and policymakers within an industry. Their perspective is highly pragmatic. They’re only mildly concerned with heavy technical, scientific data. They appreciate it when it is balanced against proof points, value propositions, and other information that clearly demonstrates the potential return on the technology.
Students and the newly graduated. Always remember that students and entry-level lab technicians are the future of our science industries. Never underestimate their importance. When communicating with them, I take a pedagogical approach and break down the content into manageable chunks of information.
The general public. This component of your audience will have a very broad range of comprehension levels. They often desire a deeper understanding of science, especially when it applies to their situation or daily lives. To communicate with them, it’s best to use relatable stories to break down complex ideas and help them visualize the data in meaningful ways.
Techniques for Identifying Your Audience
So now that you are aware of the typical audience types you’ll find when communicating science, how do you know which type you’re speaking to on a given topic?
There are a variety of methods you can employ to learn more about your audience types. Here are a few ideas:
Surveys. Without understanding your audience’s knowledge level, you’re shooting in the dark when broadcasting your message. Surveys can be a great way to shed light on your audience’s interests, questions, understanding, and preferences. If you take the time to think about what you need to know and craft well-written survey questions, you can gather various data points, including demographics, interests, and pain points. Then you can use this information to custom-tailor a communication strategy to support your messaging.
Audience Analysis Tools. In this age of digital communications, we have the advantage of various analysis tools — many of which come with the content platforms that we leverage (especially in marketing). This analysis can give you information on engagement, behaviors, and interests. Combining this data with your surveys provides a robust view of your audience types.
Feedback. You should be regularly soliciting feedback from your audience. This can be in the form of post-event surveys, comments, ratings, or direct interactions with your customers. If you work in an organization with a sales team, I recommend building connections with them. They are on the front line of customer interactions and have a wealth of information they can share with you that comes straight from your customer’s mouth.
Empathy Mapping. One of my favorite tools to employ is an exercise known as empathy mapping. To do this, you must visualize how your audience feels. What pain points do they experience? What influences them and excites them? This is another area where you should network with those within your organization that have direct contact with the customer. They are instrumental in collaborations to complete a comprehensive empathy map.
Throughout my career, these techniques have been invaluable. For example, I was the Marketing Communications Lead for a complex product launch years ago. As part of our content messaging preparations, we surveyed our target audience. We discovered three reasons they would be interested in the product depending on their perspective as researchers, executives, or investors. This allowed us to segment our messaging into tiers to cater to the needs of these three audience types. The outcome was a far more impactful and personalized engagement experience for our target market.
As communicators, it’s our responsibility to bridge the gap between needs and knowledge. When we’ve done the job correctly, our audience hears the message, appreciates it, and understands how it impacts them.
Adapting Communication Styles for Different Audiences
Content is powerful not just because of what it communicates but also in how it’s said. Now that you know how to identify and categorize your audience types, let’s discuss how to adapt your content.
I like to think of tailoring the message as similar to the work of a linguist. The science that I communicate in my job is the language. But when refining the content for a specific audience demographic, that is the dialect. My job is to get the dialect right so the content is as engaging and informative as possible.
Let’s use DNA replication as an example of how to perform this task.
When creating content for scientific experts, it’s acceptable (and expected) that we will delve into the technical details of the information. So in the case of DNA replication, that may include discussing the role of enzymes, DNA polymerase, or leading and lagging strands.
If I’m writing for business stakeholders or investors, I probably wouldn’t dive into details on the role of enzymes. I would focus on the broader steps — information like the unwinding of the double helix or the creation of RNA primers. But overall, my primary focus will be to ensure an understanding of DNA replication’s importance and broader impact so that this cohort acknowledges its value.
Finally, if I’m writing for the general public, I will likely use analogies and storytelling to convey the message. I might compare DNA replication to the unzipping of a zipper. This makes the content relatable and easier to visualize, bridging the gap between scientific complexity and general understanding.
Best Practices for Audience-Centered Science Communications
Let’s cement everything we’ve discussed with some ideas on best practices you can employ for audience-centered communications. These are nuggets of wisdom from my own professional experience and the shared experience of successful science communicators who have mentored me over the years.
Empathy is King. Always put yourself in your audience’s shoes. What do they know? What don’t they know? What do they need to know? You must understand their motivations, needs, and objectives to effectively communicate content they will relate to.
Listen More. Communication is not a one-way street, it’s a dialogue, and there’s always room for improvement and refinement. Pay attention and seek out feedback so you can adjust your communications accordingly. Don’t forget to listen to your sales teams! They have valuable insights gleaned directly from customer interactions.
Choose Your Medium. Different formats appeal to different audience types. Experts love scientific journals. Business stakeholders will love articles, blogs, and abbreviated formats of data. Investors like proof points and value propositions (especially key differentiators). Leverage the appropriate medium for your message, and don’t be afraid to play around with formats until you find what works best for your niche.
Use Simple Language and Analogies. Your goal isn’t to impress with complexity. Keep it simple. Communicate clearly and concisely. Use analogies to describe complex concepts.
Be Consistent. While switching up your style occasionally is okay, maintaining a consistent voice is key. Over time, your audience will grow accustomed to the quality and voice of your communications. Don’t switch things up on them too much, as it can impact your credibility (especially in the age of generative AI).
Be Passionate. Science is incredible stuff. It impacts our lives and those that we love daily. It’s what makes this world a beautiful place, connects us, and gives us the experiences of our wildest dreams. (Can you tell I’m passionate about science?) Always remember that enthusiasm is infectious. When you’re excited about your message, that will carry over to your audience.
Storytelling. One of the most powerful tools in your arsenal is storytelling. A technique that is as old as time; there’s a reason it’s stuck around for so long. Storytelling makes information relatable. It helps us to envision ourselves as part of something. And most importantly, it’s generally the best way to get people to remember information.
Knowing your audience should act as your North Star when you are writing or editing scientific content. Always ask yourself: Who am I talking to? What do they know? What do they need to know? How can I get them to a place of understanding?
In my upcoming blog posts, we’ll continue to add additional pieces of the puzzle until you finally have a clear vision of how to “Translate Science.” My next post will specifically address how to simplify complex concepts in your science writing.
Until then, please feel free to share your experiences, questions, and comments below. Let’s learn from each other and improve our science communication skills together.
Until next time — keep learning, keep sharing, and keep communicating.
