Communicating with Non-Specialists

Whether you want to improve your research impact, work more effectively with partners, see your findings on the news, or just explain to your granny exactly what you do, it all starts with writing well. And not just writing ‘well’, but making sure your writing is accessible and interesting for the audience you are trying to communicate with. And if you learn to write more clearly for non-specialist audiences, you will also become better at speaking to non-specialist audiences, better at collaborating with researchers from other disciplines, and better at explaining your work to funders and partners. It’s a gift that keeps on giving!   

This workshop will go over the principles of writing for non-specialist audiences, including structure, language and readability, with opportunities to practice your skills. Suitable for researchers and university professional staff looking to write lay summaries, news articles, blog posts, reports or other outputs aimed at non-specialists

Learning objectives

• Consider the needs of non-specialist audiences
• Appreciate how to structure writing in an engaging and accessible way
• Understand how to avoid jargon and pitch language at an appropriate level
• Learn how to check and improve readability
• Explore how to write persuasively, incorporating appropriate evidence that helps to make your point

Sarah McLusky has been working in public engagement, outreach, science communication and education since 1999, learning early on that a good engagement activity can literally make people faint. Over the years she has honed her communication skills working with a wide range of audiences and projects – including school curriculum enrichment activities, running huge education events, writing and editing for magazines and websites, and teaching up to degree level. She is currently Research & Engagement Manager of the Institute for Medical Humanities at Durham University specialising in engaged research, public engagement and research communications.

This event is part of a three-part series of engagement training sessions. You are strongly encouraged to attend all three sessions if you can. The full series is as follows

1. Improving Research Through Public Engagement (Friday 7 May 2021)
2. Communicating with Non-Specialists (Friday 18 June) - this session
3. Working in Partnership (Friday 10 September 2021)