Salmonid Restoration Federation
Adaptation in Motion
April 21 - 23, 2021
Virtual, California

Speaking of Science

21 April 2021
9:00am - 12:00pm

Workshop Coordinator:
Janine Castro, Project Leader & River Scientist, USFW Vancouver, WA

Janine Castro is the Project Leader for the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Columbia River Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in Vancouver, Washington.  After spending many years organizing and attending scientific conferences, she decided that we, as scientists, need to become better presenters … better communicators. Janine’s academic background is in Geology and Geography, not Communications, so she comes from a “trial by fire” perspective – learning communication skills on the job.
 
In 2012, Janine developed an on-going public speaking workshop for scientists that is offered every year at River Restoration Northwest, which has also been conducted for a wide variety of conferences and federal and state agencies.
 
Janine’s science communication focus is public speaking – specifically delivering complex scientific and technical information to the general public. She is a founder of RRNW and co-founder of Science Talk.
 
Key Messages:
  1. Be authentic
  2. Have one clear message
  3. Practice
 
Science not communicated is science not completed.
 
This workshop is focused on improving oral presentation skills for planners, scientists, engineers, and others who participate in restoration and conservation projects. Participants will leave the workshop with an improved skill set, including a checklist to develop and deliver impactful presentations.  The workshop is highly interactive and builds on the collective experience of the audience and the instructor. 
 
Topics:
  • Audience, venue, organization, size, length
  • Main message, title slide, final sentence
  • Audiovisuals, lights, sound, computer, timer, pointers, remote, props
  • Tone, volume, inflection, pace, pauses, body language
  • Answering questions