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Getting to the Heart of Science Communication: A Guide to Effective Engagement
At a community fire day in a northern California town several years ago, author Faith Kearns gave a talk on building fire-safe houses able to withstand increasingly common wildfires. Much to her surprise, Kearns was confronted by an audience member whose house had recently burned. What she thought was straightforward, helpful scientific information had instead retraumatized audience members, forcing Kearns to reevaluate her approach. Like Kearns, scientists today working on controversial issues from climate change to drought to COVID-19 are finding themselves more often in the middle of deeply traumatizing or polarized conflicts. It is no longer enough for scientists to communicate a scientific topic clearly. They must not only be experts in their fields of study, but also experts in navigating the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of members of the public they engage with, and with each other. And the conversations are growing more fraught.
In Getting to the Heart of Science Communication , Faith Kearns has penned a succinct guide for navigating the human relationships critical to the success of practice-based science. Using interviews and personal anecdotes, as well as her own insights as a field scientist, Kearns walks readers through the evolution of science communication and how emotional and high-stakes issues have shaped communication. The meat of the book lies in the middle chapters, where Kearns offers key tools for listening, working with conflict, and understanding trauma, loss, and healing. She concludes the book with a substantive discussion on diversity, equity, and inclusion in science communication, and advice to readers for handling their own emotional needs in an unpredictable career landscape.
This meticulously researched volume takes science communication to the next level, helping scientists see the value of listening as well as talking, understanding power dynamics in relationships, and addressing the roles of trauma, loss, grief, and healing. This book will particularly resonate with early to mid-career scientists, graduate students, and researchers, especially those in applied sciences who work closely with the public.
In Getting to the Heart of Science Communication , Faith Kearns has penned a succinct guide for navigating the human relationships critical to the success of practice-based science. Using interviews and personal anecdotes, as well as her own insights as a field scientist, Kearns walks readers through the evolution of science communication and how emotional and high-stakes issues have shaped communication. The meat of the book lies in the middle chapters, where Kearns offers key tools for listening, working with conflict, and understanding trauma, loss, and healing. She concludes the book with a substantive discussion on diversity, equity, and inclusion in science communication, and advice to readers for handling their own emotional needs in an unpredictable career landscape.
This meticulously researched volume takes science communication to the next level, helping scientists see the value of listening as well as talking, understanding power dynamics in relationships, and addressing the roles of trauma, loss, grief, and healing. This book will particularly resonate with early to mid-career scientists, graduate students, and researchers, especially those in applied sciences who work closely with the public.
- GenresScienceNonfiction
280 pages, Paperback
Published May 11, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 17, 2022
A one-star review is a rarity, and this one delivers it not so much on content but on delivery. The central tenement of this book is both simple and complex:
If we drop the pretense of sci comms as an “intellectually armored endeavor carried out by elites” and instead commit to relationship building — through listening with accountability, working with conflict, understanding trauma — we can make science communication more effective.
Instead of talking and constructing sci comms from a position of superiority, we must listen to the communities we serve, Kearns writes. In other worse, skills justice-centered science communicators need to relate, listen, work with conflict, and understand trauma.
Most training in sci comms is about simplification and streamlining, distilling complexity down to a couple key points to be repeated, focusing on more accurate information as a solution. But Kearns provides a completely separate approach, one that partially complements this traditional approach but mostly negates it.
She does concede that traditional sci comms is important — “While communication is important, it’s part of a discursive battle, and w/o political and economic power, we’re not going to see environmental and social change.” — but that concession is really a drive by: the entire book is about the other side of the coin, or recognizing that emotion, conflict, power struggles are already present in science communication and engagement work.
The problem then with the book is the execution. The examples we do get are still hard to connect to: it’s as if we get anecdotes and then are missing the crucial segue that the author typically provides to go from example to practical application.
It would’ve been helpful to take these anecdotes and craft a bit of a narrative around them. Perhaps lead a chapter with one, create an arc that follows a main character, and then dissect what sci comms skills were being employed to make it an effective example. Instead, the anecdotes we have are more like extended interviews.
That combined with the very basic communication tools that we’ve come to rely on and what makes sci comms accessible, even if it’s in the traditional sense — concrete examples, trimmed sentences, avoidance of abstract verbs — are mostly absent. The whole book is stymied by this inability to break out of the relative complex abstractness that the main idea tries to avoid.
In general, the book feels like more of an academic literature review rather than a practical guide. In other words, it’s the difference between hard and soft skills, and this book focuses almost completely on the latter, making it tough to pull advice or strategies from it without a real wrestling with the text.
Perhaps that’s the intention. I have wrestled with this text and there are worthwhile things to pull from, as mentioned above, but it’s so clearly written for an academic audience (so much so that we spend chapters on the academic landscape) that it fails to connect with audiences that come to science communication from the humanities, rather than from other science departments.
“There is a vital and exciting world of opportunity waiting to be explored in the move away from performance-based sci comms and toward community-accountable, relational engagement,” Kearns writes at the end, which I certainly don’t disagree with.
But struggling through a text that gets bogged down with terms like relationality and emotionality instead of writing more conversationally (another worthwhile tenement of traditional sci comms) is asking a lot of a nonacademic reader.
I recommend reading Kearns interview with Grist, which covers the main points of her argument in a short, accessible medium, instead: https://grist.org/article/the-convent...
If we drop the pretense of sci comms as an “intellectually armored endeavor carried out by elites” and instead commit to relationship building — through listening with accountability, working with conflict, understanding trauma — we can make science communication more effective.
Instead of talking and constructing sci comms from a position of superiority, we must listen to the communities we serve, Kearns writes. In other worse, skills justice-centered science communicators need to relate, listen, work with conflict, and understand trauma.
Most training in sci comms is about simplification and streamlining, distilling complexity down to a couple key points to be repeated, focusing on more accurate information as a solution. But Kearns provides a completely separate approach, one that partially complements this traditional approach but mostly negates it.
She does concede that traditional sci comms is important — “While communication is important, it’s part of a discursive battle, and w/o political and economic power, we’re not going to see environmental and social change.” — but that concession is really a drive by: the entire book is about the other side of the coin, or recognizing that emotion, conflict, power struggles are already present in science communication and engagement work.
The problem then with the book is the execution. The examples we do get are still hard to connect to: it’s as if we get anecdotes and then are missing the crucial segue that the author typically provides to go from example to practical application.
It would’ve been helpful to take these anecdotes and craft a bit of a narrative around them. Perhaps lead a chapter with one, create an arc that follows a main character, and then dissect what sci comms skills were being employed to make it an effective example. Instead, the anecdotes we have are more like extended interviews.
That combined with the very basic communication tools that we’ve come to rely on and what makes sci comms accessible, even if it’s in the traditional sense — concrete examples, trimmed sentences, avoidance of abstract verbs — are mostly absent. The whole book is stymied by this inability to break out of the relative complex abstractness that the main idea tries to avoid.
In general, the book feels like more of an academic literature review rather than a practical guide. In other words, it’s the difference between hard and soft skills, and this book focuses almost completely on the latter, making it tough to pull advice or strategies from it without a real wrestling with the text.
Perhaps that’s the intention. I have wrestled with this text and there are worthwhile things to pull from, as mentioned above, but it’s so clearly written for an academic audience (so much so that we spend chapters on the academic landscape) that it fails to connect with audiences that come to science communication from the humanities, rather than from other science departments.
“There is a vital and exciting world of opportunity waiting to be explored in the move away from performance-based sci comms and toward community-accountable, relational engagement,” Kearns writes at the end, which I certainly don’t disagree with.
But struggling through a text that gets bogged down with terms like relationality and emotionality instead of writing more conversationally (another worthwhile tenement of traditional sci comms) is asking a lot of a nonacademic reader.
I recommend reading Kearns interview with Grist, which covers the main points of her argument in a short, accessible medium, instead: https://grist.org/article/the-convent...
September 4, 2021
This book is a must read for anyone even remotely involved in the sciences: science communication, research, teaching, etc. Faith Kearns breaks down science communication and brilliantly discusses the human sides: building community, listening to one another, and the importance of understanding where everyone is coming (both the scientists/scicomm practitioners and the audience). Her chapters on conflict and equity were particularly eye opening. I love that each chapter highlights different practitioners and often uses their own words to highlight a certain topic. (Honestly this review does not do the book justice).
January 17, 2022
I found this book to be supremely helpful and incredibly inspiring. The book shares examples of how to be an effective communicator in the realm of scientific disciplines, but I have found it to be helpful with all forms of communication in life. We can learn from and connect deeply with people if we only take the time to listen and form relationships.
August 28, 2024
This book was an interesting and balanced look into the field of science communication practice. I think my only issue was that the topics it focused on seemed almost surface-level? Or else maybe they were just topics that I’ve already encountered so they feel obvious to me. In any case, it is well written and researched and a good guide on how to approach this field.
December 23, 2021
Really excellent, smart, and necessary book. Kearns talks about the importance of science communication that is accountable to impacted / affected communities, that is relationally engaged, and that values the importance of emotions. She draws from examples of other fields that have relational skills as part of professional training (law, medicine, therapy, etc) and builds the case for why that is essential for science communication… especially around sensitive or contentious topics like climate change. I particularly liked the chapters on: relating, listening, working with conflict, and understanding trauma. Kearns weaves in examples throughout the book of practitioners talking about their experiences in communities and in science / academic spaces, and about cool and creative ways that practitioners are integrating relationship, accountability, and self- and community care. Great book!
September 12, 2024
This was fine. I don’t feel like I got a lot out of it; it’s less a “guide” and more a description of the landscape of science communication. The focus is heavily on research scientists who make the switch to communication professions, so not much for me personally to relate to. Few concrete recommendations and ironically I found the writing style difficult to understand at times.
April 14, 2025
I’m so glad I read this book in the first year of my PhD. Science communication is such an intricate field, and this book underscores just how important and difficult it is to build public trust in a time when that trust is so fragile. It pushed me to be really reflexive and understand how I’m perceived as a scientist. It also made me realize how many things outside my control are working against me. Still, it reaffirmed that this is the field I want to be in. In a time full of noise, it’s the people with the real expertise and training who need to be heard. (8/10)
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February 12, 2022The book was informative but not very inspiriing.
February 28, 2025
The young field of science communication has developed to address the gap between academic science and local communities. Scientific knowledge has explained most natural process, but some mastered processes remain unexplained to individuals in the community. Instead of just relying on overcommitted professors, scientists with interests in communications have begun careers specifically to fill the gap. In this book, Faith Kearns describes this emerging field’s evolution, challenges, and speculative future.
One common misconception contends that science communicators merely handle media issues. Kearns demonstrates that many instead engage in dynamic dialogue with those most impacted by the science. And the dialogue is two-way – that is, science communicators often learn from community members as much as the community learns from the science advocate. Like religious figures in their faith communities, scientific communicators must posses skills to learn the vernacular, values, and ways of their constituents. The highbrow, technical language of scientific journals is rarely appropriate for wider audiences.
Of course, this field has challenges. No wide professional society advocates for this group. Although many many academic institutions employ science communicators, they are often not given tenure protections. Nonetheless, the sensitive nature of some of their work often necessitate these very tenure protections. Career paths are often ill-defined, and entry paths vary greatly. Still, I’d suggest that in a field like communications, however, different professional paths may actually be beneficial to contribute diverse perspectives.
Many of the biggest issues facing science today are people issues, not technical ones. We deeply understand climate change; we don’t understand how to persuade the public that it is a huge deal. Individuals possess knowledge to address big issues, but they must be stitched together into functioning teams in order for their situations to work. Communication lies at the center of these challenges, and specialized professionals are best suited to the work. As this book shows, the efforts of Kearns and her colleagues can light a way to a better future, a better society, and a better world.
One common misconception contends that science communicators merely handle media issues. Kearns demonstrates that many instead engage in dynamic dialogue with those most impacted by the science. And the dialogue is two-way – that is, science communicators often learn from community members as much as the community learns from the science advocate. Like religious figures in their faith communities, scientific communicators must posses skills to learn the vernacular, values, and ways of their constituents. The highbrow, technical language of scientific journals is rarely appropriate for wider audiences.
Of course, this field has challenges. No wide professional society advocates for this group. Although many many academic institutions employ science communicators, they are often not given tenure protections. Nonetheless, the sensitive nature of some of their work often necessitate these very tenure protections. Career paths are often ill-defined, and entry paths vary greatly. Still, I’d suggest that in a field like communications, however, different professional paths may actually be beneficial to contribute diverse perspectives.
Many of the biggest issues facing science today are people issues, not technical ones. We deeply understand climate change; we don’t understand how to persuade the public that it is a huge deal. Individuals possess knowledge to address big issues, but they must be stitched together into functioning teams in order for their situations to work. Communication lies at the center of these challenges, and specialized professionals are best suited to the work. As this book shows, the efforts of Kearns and her colleagues can light a way to a better future, a better society, and a better world.
November 10, 2023
More often than not this book made me feel hopeful and inspired. As someone who wants to become a science communicator, I feel like this book assured me that their is a place for me in the field- while also telling me it’s going to be an uphill battle.
My biggest critique is that it did make me feel like I needed to get a PhD to excel in sci-comm. Perhaps, this is me projecting my own insecurity but, it was made clear that sci-comm is a very niche subject. While it’s clear sci-comm is growing into its own subfield, it is also clear that communication skills need to be integrated into the sciences more thoroughly across the board.
I found the stories from all the different scientists interviewed for this book inspiring. There are so many people out there who are trying so hard to make the world a little better. The advice they gave in this book will be imperative for the development of future science communication curriculum and science communicators. I hope one day I can be one of them.
I can see how someone may read this book and find it maybe too optimistic or too feeling based. If that’s how someone feels that’s totally fair. For me, I think we need more emotion ins science. For me, we need to be optimistic about the future because if scientists aren’t, why would anyone else be?
3.5 rounded to 4 stars
My biggest critique is that it did make me feel like I needed to get a PhD to excel in sci-comm. Perhaps, this is me projecting my own insecurity but, it was made clear that sci-comm is a very niche subject. While it’s clear sci-comm is growing into its own subfield, it is also clear that communication skills need to be integrated into the sciences more thoroughly across the board.
I found the stories from all the different scientists interviewed for this book inspiring. There are so many people out there who are trying so hard to make the world a little better. The advice they gave in this book will be imperative for the development of future science communication curriculum and science communicators. I hope one day I can be one of them.
I can see how someone may read this book and find it maybe too optimistic or too feeling based. If that’s how someone feels that’s totally fair. For me, I think we need more emotion ins science. For me, we need to be optimistic about the future because if scientists aren’t, why would anyone else be?
3.5 rounded to 4 stars
April 22, 2023
Science communication has traditionally operated on a "deficit model": the communicator assumes that the only thing their audience needs is the "correct" information to make the "correct" decision. Also traditionally, science communication is a fairly insular exercise, with primarily (white, male) academic elites communicating information to primarily (white, male) political elites. In this book, Kearns argues that, when science communication is addressing such universal and immediate topics as pandemics, wildfires, invasive species, and available and safe water, it needs to engage and include broader populations and honor the participants' emotions, traumas, and lived experiences. She does a good job of laying out the issues but provides no easy answers on how we get there. Valid as her arguments are, as a science communicator who works primarily in static and unidirectional print media, I found myself unsure how to apply her arguments to my own work. However, I think this book will start some important conversations in the community and points us in the direction we need to go.
December 31, 2023
Took a whole class on the concepts in this book this semester so I think by the end of it I felt like Kearns was beating a dead horse. Everything she says is very reasonable: science needing to move away from a deficit model and focus on inclusive scicomm principles, active listening is extremely important, etc. Would recommend to all science communicators, I’m just burnt out by talking about these concepts for months on end, hence the 3 stars.
September 16, 2021
I lean about as far to the left as I can without falling over, and even I thought this book was too much. "Getting to the Heart of Social Justice Communication" might not have the same ring to it, but at least it would be honest. There is little to be had here for someone who wants to actually communicate science.
September 26, 2023
Worth the time to read and certainly helpful in my day-to-day on a university communications team. I'd say it was less ideas that were new to me and more a good set of reminders that audiences don't generally respond to facts, they respond to emotion.
September 18, 2022
it does what it says
March 3, 2024
Read for class and really really enjoyed! The use of personal narratives to discuss science communication efforts was super effective IMO because sci comm is such a personal issue
June 14, 2024
One of the best SciComm books I’ve ever read!! Going to use a lot of chapters for a new class I’m teaching next year.
December 30, 2024
Really good information and introspection for anyone in and or thinking about working within the science communication industry.
August 2, 2025
I appreciated a genuine look at the "heart" when it comes to communication. It challenges you to see the person beneath the person with practical science backing up the why.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews