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The Book

Scientifically Speaking

Now more than ever, the scientific and medical community is under the microscope and in front of the media. Science matters, and in a post-truth world it’s more important than ever for scientists and physicians to be heard.

But there’s a challenge. To get people to listen, you can’t communicate in writing alone anymore. You need to speak up and be seen – on stage, online, and on camera. To do this well you need to master the art of influential speaking, which is something you weren’t taught at university or medical school.

This book teaches you how to become a compelling scientific speaker so that you can put your message across with confidence and clarity, both online and in person. It’s written by a speaking coach with 25 years of experience in science communications.

Formats Available: Paperback, eBook

First Published: 8 June 2021

Publisher: Practical Inspiration Publishing

ISBN: 9781788602785

Why Scientists Need This Book

Now more than ever, the scientific and medical community is under the microscope and in front of the media. Science matters, and in a post-truth world it’s more important than ever for scientists and physicians to be heard.

But there’s a challenge. To get people to listen, you can’t communicate in writing alone anymore. You need to speak up and be seen – on stage, online, and on camera. To do this well you need to master the art of influential speaking, which is something you weren’t taught at university or medical school.
This book teaches you how to become a compelling scientific speaker so that you can put your message across with confidence and clarity, both online and in person. It’s written by a speaking coach with 25 years of experience in science communications.

1
Part One shows how speaking can help you to win the war of attention, benefiting both your field and your career.
2
Part Two explains how to craft your scientific message in a way that connects with your audience and achieves your goal. Including how to be memorable, handle the Q&A, and communicate risk.
3
Part Three gives you a tool kit for speaking with energy and conviction in all types of situations. These include virtual channels, which are particularly important in the post-COVID era.

The book is intensely practical but non-prescriptive. It equips the reader with the skills needed in today’s world, enabling them to enhance their reputation and relationships, credibility and career, influence and impact.

Key Features

  • Great science deserves great communications – especially today when science is under such scrutiny.
  • Today, scientists and doctors are currently being forced to engage online and on video more than ever before. If they aren’t on camera – as the pandemic has shown us – they risk being invisible. This is both technically challenging and stressful.
  • This book focuses on how to speak about science clearly and with confidence, how to navigate speaking in person and virtually in a way that enhances your professional status.
  • This is an intensely practical ‘how to’ guide for science communications in the digitally connected virtual age – whether you are doing a video for Twitter, being interviewed in a podcast or speaking on stage.

It’s what scientists didn’t learn at university or medical school.

Praise for Scientifically Speaking

It is more important than ever for scientists to be heard and master the art of influential speaking – but this is rarely if ever taught in science-based university courses. Educators must consider training in the many facets of science communication in their courses, but until then, this concise book will help. Don’t believe it? Be assured it will not be long until you present at a new venue and to a wholly ‘different’ audience. A ‘one size fits all’ approach will rarely succeed.

Read the full review in The Biologist

Ian Blenkharn,

Royal Society of Biology

“Packed full of helpful tips and guidance, examples that resonate and statements that stick, Jo Filshie Browning has created a guide that is informative, comprehensive, easy to follow and immensely practical. If your goal is to communicate your scientific data as powerfully as possible, then Scientifically Speaking is the book for you. Jo’s words have such a strong call to action. I was totally inspired to get out there and connect with my audience through compelling presentations. As Jo says, “science doesn’t speak for itself”. With the help of this book, you will certainly be able to provide it a mighty and extremely impactful voice!”

Sangeeta Jethwa,

MD, Research Physician

“This little book is a must-read for anyone who is passionate about their research; who wants to communicate complex information effectively; who cares about securing grant funding or investment, or who cares about advancing their research career. That is to say it is essential reading for everyone involved in science or scientific communication, including researchers, company executives, doctors and policy makers. In a world where there is increasing competition for an audience’s attention, this book provides a short, easy-to-read, practical guide to ensuring your messages win hearts and minds. Written from a place of empathy for those who are reticent about public speaking and engagement, but with plenty to offer veterans too, it practises exactly what it preaches: it is engaging, direct and highly effective. I cannot recommend it highly enough.”

Vivek Muthu,

Physician and health and life sciences consultant, Former Managing Director, Economist Intelligence Unit Healthcare

“As a physician, it has become increasingly important to not only spread scientific education by digital means and social media, but also fight the vast amount of disinformation that is being spread. In order to do this, you need the right tools and training. This is not just a textbook, but a great reference to guide you as you deepen your engagements and communication in this brave new digital world. The material is discussed in a clear, concise and practical way, that makes it perfect for the working physician who wants to form part of the digital conversation.”

Gilberto Morgan MD,

Medical oncologist, Director of the OncoAlert network

“I had the great pleasure to train with Jo Filshie Browning before, and this experience has been truly transformative. In her book, Jo distills her extensive knowledge to help scientists navigate the complex landscape of scientific communication. Combined with illustrative anecdotes and real life stories, the lessons on communication theory and how proper communication can work for you are elegantly interwoven, and thus make for an easy but very informative read. I really enjoyed reading the book and highly recommend it to all scientists who want to make their science more impactful by taking the next steps communicating it effectively.”

Benedikt Westphalen,

MD Medical Lead Precision Oncology, University of Munich

“As scientists we might have important ideas and research about how to better the future of humankind, but often we do not know how best to communicate our concepts so that they can be fully and easily understood. The only way to ensure that science can have impact is to narrate our science clearly and in a compelling way. This is where Jo Filshie Browning’s book Scientifically Speaking has an important role to play. I know personally that principles in this book, when scientifically applied, can lead to the best possible impact. I worked with Jo on my TEDx talk and her practical and clear principles of scientific communication were extremely valuable in my preparation and the talk was a huge success and was featured on the main TED platform. I do hope others will read this and benefit from her approach.”

Antonella Santuccione Chadha,

Co-Founder and CEO of Women’s Brain Project, Euresearch Vice-President, Head of Stakeholders Engagement Biogen

“If you have ever felt even slightly challenged with preparations to deliver your medical or scientific message effectively, Jo Filshie Browning clears the way by providing very smart, practical and effective advice on how to address different audiences and in a variety of settings. Add to that numerous compelling anecdotes from her 25 years in high-level healthcare communication and very timely examples from the COVID-19 crisis and you have a book you literally do not want to put down. This book will teach you not only how to prepare your content in the most thorough manner, but also how to successfully train your voice, master your body language and appearance to best support your communication goals.

It is an essential read and powerful toolkit for anyone in the medical and scientific professions, and for everyone interested in communicating in the most impactful way.”

Gabriele Y. Matthias,

Molecular Biologist, Friedrich Miescher, Institute for Biomedical Research

“The book Scientifically Speaking by Jo Filshie Browning is a must-read for all scientists wishing to enhance the impact of their research and further their career. The author breaks down the many communication complexities providing a clear strategy and various tools and methods. This book is a go-to reference to tackle our fast-changing world of communication technologies.”

Maarten Vercruysse, PhD,

Principal Scientist, Roche Pharma Research & Early Development

“Being a presenter and media interviewee on scientific/medical topics, Jo Filshie Browning’s book rang many bells for me, while providing fresh insights and practical advice. Presentation strategies here are both ancient (Aristotle’s ethospathoslogos) and very modern, in this age of virtual webinars and conferences, social media echo chambers, ultra-short attention spans, science denialism and fake news. For me the top ‘take-home’ message was ‘prepare, prepare’ supremely for the questions after a presentation! Browning uses the classic 1995 “Pill-scare” to exemplify how better media planning might have reduced unintended conceptions generated by scary headlines, about doubled relative risk of thrombosis, rather than the equally valid absolute risk increasing from 1:7000 to 2:7000. This great read will minimise similar ‘lost in translation’ scenarios between science fact and public understanding.”

John Guillebaud,

Emeritus Professor of Family Planning and Reproductive Health, University College London

“Scientifically Speaking provides clear, fundamental guidance for scientists and physicians regarding effective audience-appropriate and media-appropriate communication of scientific and clinical findings. The book should be especially helpful for scientists and physicians who do not have access to communications professionals.”

Joseph Bolen, PhD,

Chief Scientific Officer, PureTech Health

The Course

Scientifically Speaking

Coming soon: new course!

Our new training course “Scientifically Speaking” will equip you with the tools and techniques to speak about your science with confidence, clarity and impact.