There are many ways for you to share information about your research with fellow adults. You can call a local civic group, religious organization or retirement community and offer to be a guest speaker at a meeting.

If you are involved in clinical practice, tell your patients about research that allowed you to diagnose and treat them and about the importance of stable funding for such research.

And be ready to explain what you do and why it’s important to your friends and neighbors. Have two or three easy-to-understand points ready to explain your work.

General Tips for Effective Public Speaking

• Tailor your speech to the interests of your audience.
• Rehearse your material aloud. Test it on friends, family or colleagues who can give you constructive criticism from a nonscientific point of view.
• Learn your concepts and structure so that you can “tell” your information. Don’t memorize your speech.
• Speak slowly. Remind yourself to slow down by putting slash marks between sentences in practice sessions.
• Consider your speech an “enlarged conversation” and speak as naturally as you would to one other person.
• Maintain eye contact with listeners throughout the presentation.
• Let your enthusiasm for your work come through. People can appreciate and respond to professional dedication even when they cannot really understand the subject of a scientist’s research.

Tips for Giving a Presentation

• Your speech should have an introduction, body (key points) and conclusion. Remember the clarity principle: Every generalization should be followed by a specific example or statement.
• Be sure to help your audience understand why your topic is relevant to them, especially if you are talking about a highly technical area of research. Tell them about the ultimate impact of the research.
• Don’t use too many facts and numbers — they numb people. Better to use anecdotes and human examples to illustrate a few numbers.
• The conclusion should redirect audience attention to your purpose.
• Make your appeal. If you want audience members to do something, tell them what to do.
• Remember: The average American has an 8th-grade science education. Speak simply and concisely for best communication. It is an opportunity to improve your audience’s science literacy.
• If you are challenged on a statement (such as the necessity for using research animals or the manner in which the Earth was created), you can do much to diffuse the situation by acknowledging respect for another’s beliefs and values and by framing your statements with “I” messages.
• Never tell someone “you are wrong.” If it is clear that someone in your audience is making a statement based on misinformation, a good way to respond is to ask, “May I tell you something more (or give you additional information) about that?” Asking permission to convey the facts is more likely to induce the person to listen.

Responding to Audience Questions

There are two ways to set up a question-and answer-session following a presentation.

If time is limited, you may wish to have audience members write their questions on index cards to be passed to you once you have finished speaking. Either you or someone you designate can screen the cards by selecting those you wish to answer.

An open session is more difficult to control, but it may be more satisfying to your audience. After you acknowledge an audience member, repeat his/her question to be sure everyone has heard it and to give yourself time to formulate an answer.

You should be able to anticipate many queries. Write out expected questions and your answers before your presentation. The session will be more interesting if you can introduce some new information in your responses.

When someone asks several questions at once, you are free to choose the one you would like to answer and ignore the others. If the question is one you would rather not answer directly, use it to lead into a point you do want to make. If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so. But cite a possible source of the information or offer to get the information for the questioner.

Always finish on a high note. Don’t keep answering questions when audience interest seems to have waned. You can invite those who have unanswered questions to speak to you privately at the conclusion of the program.

How to Handle a Debate

You may find yourself invited to participate in a panel discussion or debate with animal rights activists. Decline such invitations until you feel comfortable about handling them. If you encounter vocal opposition during a debate, the following suggestions should get you through a confrontation:

• Remember that you are representing reason. No matter how great the provocation, control your temper. When your opponents rant and rave, you will win points for your restraint.
• Debate about the humane use of animals in biomedical research often is not polite. You must be able to hold the floor despite attempts to interrupt you. Raise your voice slightly to override the interruptions as you continue to speak. Use body language to assert your authority. Keep your head up and look directly at your opponent in an assertive way. Lean forward and put out your hand as though motioning “stop.”
• When you have difficulty getting a word in edgewise, make a general plea by saying, “I’d like to address that point.” Then, plunge right in.
• Stick to a few basic points that you wish to communicate, such as the necessity for animal research in the past, present and future, and why it is so important.
• Animal rights activists will try to bury you in irrelevant details and misinformation. If you establish your own agenda, you’ll be effective.