Presentation Abstract

“What did you just say?” This is the world where cognitive psychology, neural linguistics, risk communication and prose meet the hard sciences. In the Salish Sea, people are aching for meaning, narratives, tools and pathways to help protect what they love or what lines their wallets... but only if they understand the value of Puget Sound as a biological place, a community, an economy and a braided culture. The pathway from data to knowledge to understanding to action is a circuitous and long path which starts with clear communication and first and foremost, understanding our target audiences. These are the people, institutions and communities of practice we are asking something from- -to change a buying or transportation habit, to adopt new policies or to plan land use differently. The void between technical lexicon and action by non-scientists and engineers is substantial. Closing this void requires interdisciplinary problem solving and implementation at all scales and more than a bit of humanity and humility. In a world pregnant with misinformation, anger and divisiveness, the natural resource community has an outstanding opportunity to foster conversations about values and a positive future that will lead to real results for Puget Sound as a place. We are at an inflection point nationally where good science communication and building social capital is urgent. Who is a scientist? Who are we? This session will address the brain, the mind, science communication, use of humor, building communities of practice and garnering support from the most unlikely of allies. It will also feature a fish of notable fame.

Session Title

Communication Tools to Accelerate Success

Keywords

Science communication, Cognition, Communication, Target audiences

Conference Track

SSE6: Communication

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)

Document Type

Event

SSEC Identifier

SSE6-532

Start Date

6-4-2018 2:00 PM

End Date

6-4-2018 2:15 PM

Type of Presentation

Oral

Genre/Form

conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Science--Social aspects--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Science--Methodology--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Social marketing--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Communitation--Social aspects--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Environmental sciences--Social aspects--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Social change--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Geographic Coverage

Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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Apr 6th, 2:00 PM Apr 6th, 2:15 PM

When fish speak English

“What did you just say?” This is the world where cognitive psychology, neural linguistics, risk communication and prose meet the hard sciences. In the Salish Sea, people are aching for meaning, narratives, tools and pathways to help protect what they love or what lines their wallets... but only if they understand the value of Puget Sound as a biological place, a community, an economy and a braided culture. The pathway from data to knowledge to understanding to action is a circuitous and long path which starts with clear communication and first and foremost, understanding our target audiences. These are the people, institutions and communities of practice we are asking something from- -to change a buying or transportation habit, to adopt new policies or to plan land use differently. The void between technical lexicon and action by non-scientists and engineers is substantial. Closing this void requires interdisciplinary problem solving and implementation at all scales and more than a bit of humanity and humility. In a world pregnant with misinformation, anger and divisiveness, the natural resource community has an outstanding opportunity to foster conversations about values and a positive future that will lead to real results for Puget Sound as a place. We are at an inflection point nationally where good science communication and building social capital is urgent. Who is a scientist? Who are we? This session will address the brain, the mind, science communication, use of humor, building communities of practice and garnering support from the most unlikely of allies. It will also feature a fish of notable fame.