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Five years ago, I experienced a bit

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of what it must have been like to be Alice in Wonderland.

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Penn State asked me, a communications teacher,

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to teach a communications class for engineering students.

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And I was scared. (Laughter)

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Really scared. Scared of these students with their big brains

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and their big books and their big, unfamiliar words.

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But as these conversations unfolded,

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I experienced what Alice must have when she went down

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that rabbit hole and saw that door to a whole new world.

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That's just how I felt as I had those conversations

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with the students. I was amazed at the ideas

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that they had, and I wanted others to experience this wonderland as well.

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And I believe the key to opening that door

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is great communication.

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We desperately need great communication from our

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scientists and engineers in order to change the world.

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Our scientists and engineers are the ones

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that are tackling our grandest challenges, from energy

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to environment to health care, among others,

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and if we don't know about it and understand it,

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then the work isn't done, and I believe it's our responsibility

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as non-scientists to have these interactions.

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But these great conversations can't occur if our scientists

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and engineers don't invite us in to see their wonderland.

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So scientists and engineers, please, talk nerdy to us.

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I want to share a few keys on how you can do that

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to make sure that we can see that your science is sexy

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and that your engineering is engaging.

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First question to answer for us: so what?

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Tell us why your science is relevant to us.

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Don't just tell me that you study trabeculae,

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but tell me that you study trabeculae, which is the mesh-like structure of our bones

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because it's important to understanding and treating osteoporosis.

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And when you're describing your science, beware of jargon.

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Jargon is a barrier to our understanding of your ideas.

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Sure, you can say "spatial and temporal," but why not just say

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"space and time," which is so much more accessible to us?

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And making your ideas accessible is not the same as dumbing it down.

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Instead, as Einstein said, make everything

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as simple as possible, but no simpler.

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You can clearly communicate your science

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without compromising the ideas.

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A few things to consider are having examples, stories

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and analogies. Those are ways to engage

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and excite us about your content.

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And when presenting your work, drop the bullet points.

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Have you ever wondered why they're called bullet points? (Laughter)

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What do bullets do? Bullets kill,

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and they will kill your presentation.

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A slide like this is not only boring, but it relies too much

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on the language area of our brain, and causes us to become overwhelmed.

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Instead, this example slide by Genevieve Brown is

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much more effective. It's showing that the special structure

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of trabeculae are so strong that they actually inspired

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the unique design of the Eiffel Tower.

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And the trick here is to use a single, readable sentence

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that the audience can key into if they get a bit lost,

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and then provide visuals which appeal to our other senses

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and create a deeper sense of understanding

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of what's being described.

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So I think these are just a few keys that can help

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the rest of us to open that door and see the wonderland

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that is science and engineering.

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And because the engineers that I've worked with have

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taught me to become really in touch with my inner nerd,

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I want to summarize with an equation. (Laughter)

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Take your science, subtract your bullet points

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and your jargon, divide by relevance,

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meaning share what's relevant to the audience,

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and multiply it by the passion that you have for

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this incredible work that you're doing,

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and that is going to equal incredible interactions

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that are full of understanding.

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And so, scientists and engineers, when you've solved

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this equation, by all means, talk nerdy to me. (Laughter)

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Thank you. (Applause)