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Speak from your heart
Professor Vicent Martínez
Astronomical Obervatory, Valencia University, Spain
When speaking to the public, you must transmit your own passion for the topic you are talking about. In my experience what the audience should share with you is your enthusiasm about what is a fascinating story. And probably this is the most important point: You are telling a story. This is quite different from just translating the results that you are publishing on a scientific paper.
You have to understand and know very well the audience you are addressing, and learn from them what they are willing to know. For each target audience you should try to find the best examples or intuitive analogies that make your story more engaging.
You have to prepare images and animations that captivate the audience's attention and keep it alive. In astronomy, this is probably easier than in other scientific disciplines because of the fascinating astronomical images and movies that can be produced about the wonders of the universe, and we have to make the most of this advantage.
To break the obvious asymmetry between your own knowledge on the topic and that of the audience, communication skills are important, but probably it is even more important to find a way to make the audience understand your activity as a trusted enterprise: The personal adventure that leads you to make a new discovery or a new contribution to the knowledge in the field.
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