A Response to Professor Nancy Longnecker's Talk – Katerin Fuentes
I attended Professor Nancy Longnecker’s lecture Challenges of Communicating in Complex Times, and I found it very interesting and thought-provoking. One of her main points was that effective communication is not only about sharing information, but also about understanding the audience and having clear objectives. She explained that communication can aim to raise awareness, increase understanding, change behaviours, or even influence policy.
Another important idea was that we are living in a time where misinformation and disinformation are very common. Because of this, people do not always trust scientific information, which makes communication more challenging. She also mentioned that we need to evaluate and reflect on how effective our communication is, instead of assuming that people will automatically understand or accept the message.
I agree with the general message of the lecture. I think that communication today is more complex than before, especially because of social media and the large amount of information available. It is not enough to present facts; we need to connect with people and build trust.
One point that really resonated with me was the importance of considering the audience. Sometimes, as scientists, we assume that people will understand or accept our ideas if we explain them clearly, but this is not always true. People have different backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences, and this affects how they receive information. This made me reflect on how I communicate my own research.
In terms of the future, I feel that communication may become more difficult because misinformation continues to spread quickly. However, I am also optimistic, because there is more awareness about the importance of good communication. If we learn how to communicate better and adapt to different audiences, we can improve the way information is shared and understood.
Wow, very elaborate response, well done! I share the same point that resonated most with you. I agree that it is very important to be aware of who you are addressing and different perspectives. In addition to being aware of who you are addressing, it is also important to be aware of your own biases and opinions. Thank you for sharing your perspective on this topic! <3
ReplyDeleteHello, Katerin, your response is very impressive and thank you for sharing your experience related to some challenges in communication which makes it clearer for me to understand the lecture content.
ReplyDeleteYour response is so good and helpful to remind what we learned there. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Katerin. I can see from your comments just how relevant this talk was to you as a research scientist. I feel too that I have something to learn from the lecture. It is all too easy to stereotype people who disagree with you, to dismiss them by calling them an antivaxxer, a liberal, a fundamentalist, a creationist or whatever other term. Trying to understand others, trying to empathise with them, takes time and may be 'costly' in some way, but it is the right thing to do. David :-)
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more. You made a good point! As you mentioned in the sentences, every people have different background so it' really hard to make them to behave in right way. According to Iza's reflection, generally, that's called "Deficit Model of Science Communication". I think people is likely to change if you give the opportunities to aware what they have to do rather than just simply tell some informations.
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