Thread by @DrWendyRocks

Thread on the Contentious Communication session at #GSA2019

Our 1st speaker is @honu_girl from the Geological Survey of Alabama speaking about communicating #earthquakes to the public.

“Part of being a voice for science is being yourself” - Dr. Hill

Alabama has oil shales! This alarmed the citizens, in part because of incorrect media articles.

@honu_girl corrected misinformation, held public meetings and gave the citizens agency to make their own choices.

“What does your audience need? What are their concerns?”

“Listen. Make connections. Find common ground.”

Next up, @DisastrousComms is going to talk about using @USGS aftershock forecasts to effectively communicate about ongoing #earthquake hazards.

“We are trying to give information to people who are already traumatized. We need to keep that in mind with our messaging.” - @DisastrousComms

Dr. McBride is a social scientist working to improve the communication of hazard and risk, among other things. She is an immensely valuable addition to the earthquake science community.

All stakeholders want information, but they all want/need something different. Slide by @DisastrousComms

Include “we and our” in messaging, because these personal pronouns identify scientists as people rather than faceless, uncaring organizations.

Validation of people’s feelings can provide comfort, for example “aftershocks can be frightening and this is a normal feeling.”

Responsive messaging needs to be timely to be useful. Templates can help. Slide by @DisastrousComms

“It’s fine to tell someone that something is scary, but you also need to give them something to do.” - @DisastrousComms

Our next speaker is @theterbush talking about @USGS_ShakeAlert and #earthquake early warning.

We have to find ways to use this technology, ways to messages it, and ways to get those messages out, including to non-English speakers. - @theterbush

What is success? (Slide by @theterbush)

Side note - all of our speakers so far are doing great science communication. They’re using humor, storytelling, and personal stories to convey critical ideas.

How do we overcome challenges and roadblocks, AND how do we effectively communicate with stakeholders about all of the specific hazards and associated uncertainties?

Do we divide in order to conquer? (Slide by @theterbush)

Diverse voices are needed to reach diverse audiences!!! Excellent point by @theterbush

Our next speaker is Lindsay Davis who will be telling us about challenges related to communication #landslide hazards and risk in Puerto Rico.

What are some challenges? (Slide by Davis)

“A large part of my work has been listening.” - Lindsay Davis

The theme of listening is definitely emerging as a critical component of communication.

“Use the process as the product”.

Multiple channels of communication are important.

Partnering with the local communities is critical.

Excited to have @ronlin from the LA Times here to give a journalists perspective on Contentious Communication!

Reframing the issue is critical. Not “can we afford to do this?” but instead “can we afford NOT to do this”?

What are we actually facing in terms of loss of life and property if we fail to act now?

Using vivid, visual words can be effective for connecting with people. Slide by @ronlin

How do we use and visualize data? This chart can be compelling but also confusing. For ex, what is lowness smoothing and why does it matter?

Place matters. Local data and information helps people connect to the issue and care about the story.

Talk about the same things over and over. Being repetitive helps people understand and remember.

Put things in a larger context to help create a more compelling and engaging narrative. Slide by @ronlin

We’re going on break now; resuming at 9:55. I’m doing my best to stay true to the speakers and their talks but many points have been paraphrased. Also, sorry for any spelling or grammatical errors. See you soon friends!

The whole room erupts into cheers as @ronlin explains that the LA Times is no longer publishing Letters to the Editor that aren’t well-reasoned and fact based.

Now we’re back learning about Best Practices for Communicating on Contentious Topics from attorney Augusta Wilson

Scientists are increasingly called upon to participate in the public discourse - go to protests, write Op-Eds, join social media. But they’re concerned about that exposure and what can happen as a result of their participation.

Scientists absolutely can be involved in politics and activism!

Be aware of anti-lobbying regulations (like the Anti-Lobbying Act) - Slide from Augusta Wilson

This does not say that a scientist is prohibited from interacting with regulators and advocating for legislation - they just can’t use federal resources to do so.

Another thing to keep in mind - The Hatch Act. This prevents federal employees from participating in political activities at work. They can still do it on their own, ON THEIR PRIVATE TIME.

Here is a list of DO’s for scientists from attorney Augusta Wilson. #GSA2019

Our next speaker is @KHayhoe. Dr. Hayhoe will be speaking about how to have constructive conversations about polarizing topics.

It’s much easier to have a face to face conversation with a real person (like a congress person) than it is to have conversations with faceless people on the internet.

“To have constructive conversations we need to confront the real problems” - @KHayhoe

What does this (our political affiliation) have to do with what we believe about climate? EVERYTHING (Slide by @KHayhoe)

“The smarter we are the better we are at cherry picking data that supports our opinion”

“The smarter we are the better we are at arguing our point.”

- @KHayhoe

We need to make climate change personal. Polar bears are cute and we like them. But we need to take the message closer to home.

Many think change may harm polar bears, and developing countries, and even plants and animals but not them. This is not correct!

We often present the solutions as worse than the impacts. (Slide by @KHayhoe)

The best thing we can do with contentious conversations is TO HAVE THEM. - @KHayhoe

What can we connect on?
Our family, our church, our economy, our land, our country, our food.

Find shared values. We all want to be the good person.

Our next speaker is Dana Friend, who will speak about evolution and religion. Help her out and take her survey!

Is evolution still contentious? Why? (Slide by Dana Friend)

Scientists are united in believing in evolution but 30% of the public still thinks there’s disagreement within the scientific community.

Most American think science and religion are in conflict.

Friend did surveys of college students to determine their feelings about religion and evolution, including teaching intelligent design in classrooms.

This student believes in evolution, but as a catholic, she feels guilty about it. (Slide by Friend)

To open a positive and honest conversation about evolution it can help to state your religious beliefs upfront.

“We ACCEPT evolution. We BELIEVE in God.” - Friend

Our next presenter is Caitlin Kirby, who will give us insight into narratives and norms in #climatechange education.

Apologies for not always tagging presenters and using their proper titles. I will go back and remedy this after the session when I have a chance to access that information.

She’s looking at subjective norms (what you think others believe/do) and personal norms (what you yourself believe or do)

It’s easier to change ideas about what you think others think than it is to change your own personally deeply held belief. - Kirby

When writing about climate change, students often speak vaguely and hypothetically. They also cite education and environmentally friendly actions as things people can do to fight climate change. (This session has shown that just providing facts doesn’t change people’s minds)

“Narratives have the potential to foster agreement and communication around #climatechange”

Our final presenter is Shima Shams and she will tell us about her work on holding a focus group on #climatechange science.

Many Americans don’t think humans cause #climatechange AND they don’t realize that there is a scientific consensus about anthropogenic climate change. Slide by Shima Shams

There is a strong partisan divide when it comes to climate change acceptance and beliefs.

Less global warming discussion leads to more climate change disbelief. This harkens back to @KHayhoe’s point - the best thing we can do is start having these difficult conversations.

Shams study wants to understand climate change views of pro-climate Republicans. (Slide by Shima Shams)

Some key questions -
🔹What is the main source of their climate change info?
🔸How and when do they discuss climate change?
🔹What are the values that helped them to understand climate change?

Now it’s time for the group discussion!

First question is from a government employee - even using best practices, how can we be sure we won’t be penalized?

Answer: use the resources that are available to you and that should help to curtail the risk.

Connect with students (and communities) and build trust by talking about kids and families and shared interests and not just the science.

Questions for @ronlin - how can we make sure we’re not misrepresented in the media?

Answer: Be available to the reporter for any follow up questions that they need to clarify. If something is incorrect after publication you can ask for a correction.

Relatability and likability are important for scientists - @DisastrousComms recently wrote an article about this in STL - contact her for info on how to be more likable!

The whole community is needed to reach diverse populations. - @theterbush

What should we think about?
- Be empathetic
- Make people think
- Be specific
- Don’t underestimate how much people like scientists
- Frame conversations as positive
- Jump over the controversy and discuss actions

A huge thank you to all of our amazing presenters and to our engaged and thoughtful audience. I learned a lot and I hope you did too.

Follow Augusta here! @AugustaCFWilson