James Brown - Science communicator?!?

On Friday night I had the pleasure, nay, the honour of seeing the
Godfather of Soul Himself - James Brown - in concert. It made me think
about science communication. What, you may ask, does a James Brown show
have to do with science communication? Well, as it happens, not a great
deal. Which, I think, is a problem.

James Brown is the ultimate entertainer. Even though he's over 70, his
shows are tightly rehearsed, a feast for the eyes as well as the ears,
and you come away hyped. The whole thing is designed to enthrall the
audience, with shimmying doo-wop girls, the band resplendant in
"military" costumes, and a brace of hosts who pop up at appropriate
times to whip the crowd into a frenzy. The result? I went in feeling a
little weary from a busy week, a bit sluggish after a nice meal, and by
the end I was jumping out of my seat to dance, in contravention of the
regulations at the State theatre. (By the way, what promoter books James
Brown - JAMES BROWN! into a non-dancing venue ?!?!)

Yet science is so dull. We are taught so often to remove all the
emotion, report your findings impartially and impersonally. Use neutral
language and removal all trace of the personality of the author.

Well I say Bollocks to that! Look at Steve Irwin. Personality spilling
over! Enthusiasm all over the place! His science is exciting. That's
what people want - they respond to other humans, not to emotionless
robots. Even David Attenborough, in his restrained, oh-so-British style,
shows his love of the subject, it shines out of his eyes.

And as science communicators that's what we have to do too. Show not only what
it is, but why it's good. Inspire people with our own interest in the
subject. It's not a scientific report (and I would argue that you can
put emotion into a scientific report, too, but that's for another day), so
let a few emotions and colourful adjectives loose in your prose. My
journalism teacher told me, the point is to entertain and to inform -
but entertain first. Without entertainment, you lose your audience; then
the informing part just never happens. And just cos it's fun doesn't make it factually inaccurate.

So don't be afraid to put on a show. Use the lighting, and some atmospheric
music. Dress up, and dress your stage, too. Rehearse your moves and your
dramatic pauses.

And heck, why not get a guy with slick hair and bow-tie to come out
before the plenary speaker and yell at the crowd..."Sydney... are you
READY?!?!"