Communicating with the public
You should spend some time considering who your audience is, what they may know, and why they’re engaging with your communication.
For non-expert audiences, the level of scientific knowledge can vary considerably. Although we often group all non-experts into a single group (the public), in reality there are many publics, all with a variety of knowledge, experiences, and opinions. Therefore, rather than simply “dumbing down” a topic, you will need to spend time on planning your communication activity to ensure you engage with your audience and achieve your purpose.
The planning process for communicating with a non-expert audience should be no different to the planning process used for communicating with your peers or an expert audience. However, you may find that context plays a larger role (particularly for controversial topics) and you may have more flexibility when choosing a genre.
Recommended resource
Assessment items that require a vlog will vary in their requirements. Be sure to check your assessment criteria for specific details or talk to your lecturer.
For assessment items that require a recorded PowerPoint presentation (or similar), refer to the presentation module.
Writing a vlog script
At university, video assignments may require you to provide an explanation of results, summarise a scientific article, or discuss a particular substance, process, or species. Regardless of the topic, in most cases your video should have an introduction, body, and conclusion.
Before reading further, watch the first 2 minutes of the following SciShow video by Hank Green. The video focuses on a scientific article about incubation calling by birds. Pay attention to how Hank summarises the article and provides simple explanations for specific concepts.
Introduction
Your introduction should grab your audience’s attention, provide some background information, and lead them into the main content in the body section. Vlogs usually allow for a bit more creativity than a PowerPoint presentation or a written task, so don’t be afraid to try something different in your introduction to engage your audience.
In the SciShow example, Hank provides an analogy of a human mother playing music to her unborn child. This analogy helps to prime the audience for the following scenario involving bird incubation calls. Hank then introduces the topic of incubation calling.
Body
You can begin a script by writing down the key points that you need to include in the body of your video. Check your assignment criteria for details of any specific information that should be included. For example, if you were providing a summary of a scientific article, you may need to discuss each section of the article or simply mention the key findings.
Consider what visuals you will use in your video and make a note of when they should appear in the video. Often the visuals you choose will help you to develop different sections of your script.
Once you have an outline of the information you want to include in the body section, you can transform the information into sentences. See below for script tips.
In the SciShow example, Hank provides details of the experimental methods and results. The explanations are accompanied by text, images, and a simple animation. Hank continues to provide further explanation for the behaviours and discusses possible benefits of the incubation calling.
Conclusion
The conclusion gives you the opportunity to discuss the ‘so what?’ question (i.e. why should your audience care?). For science vlogs, the conclusion can also give consideration to future research possibilities or limitations of research findings.
Hank summarises the benefits of a small body mass for Zebra finches and indicates that the mechanism linking incubation calling and body mass remains a mystery—this is the same as suggesting further research is required.
Refining a script
Once you have a rough draft, record yourself reading through the script. As a rough guide, 150 words takes about 1 min to read aloud. It is essential that you speak clearly and use pauses for emphasis—don’t rush your vlog to fit within the time limit!
If you are over time, remove any sentences that are not essential and refine lengthy sentences.
If you are under time, consider where you can add more detail to individual sentences.
Pay attention to any parts of your script that, when read aloud, don’t sound quite right. You may want to rearrange a sentence or modify particularly words to improve cohesion.
Storyboarding
Storyboarding is useful if you have a variety of footage or images to display. The process allows you to visualise the different sections of your video and rearrange parts if necessary.
Once you have a script, use it to map out what will appear on the screen. You don’t need to be able to draw. Simply use rough sketches to illustrate the major sections or shots of your video. If you’re on the screen, you can draw a stick figure. If you’re displaying a graph, sketch a simple graph.
Download the storyboard template
More information on storyboarding: Creating simple storyboards
Tips for scripts
Write for the ear, not the eye
One of the problems with using a script is that when you read it out it just doesn’t sound natural. Try to make your sentences sound less formal by using short sentences and writing like you’re having a conversation with someone you know.
Use contractions
Using contractions (don’t, won’t, haven’t, isn’t etc.) in your script will make you appear more relaxed and conversational. If you haven’t used contractions, you should notice that when you read your script for the first time it will sound too formal for a general audience.
Emphasis
When reading a script or recalling a script from memory, you may forget to add emphasis to important words or syllables. This robotic, monotone style can be avoided by underlining or highlighting words and syllables that require more emphasis. When you read through the script, the underlined or highlighted words will help you to remember to use emphasis.
Use the script as a guide
Probably the best way to avoid sounding unnatural when using a script is to just use it as a guide. This method is particularly useful if you need to be on camera for most/all of your video. Read through your script a few times to get familiar with your content and then put the script aside. Don’t worry if you miss certain words or explain things in a slightly different way, as long as you cover all the essential parts.
Don’t try to do it in one take
Don’t worry if you can only remember small segments of your script—you can join all of your segments together during the editing process. Be careful that you use the same lighting and audio setup for each shot. You will notice in Hank Green’s video that he only says one or two sentences before a break. Some of these breaks are softened by cutting to other graphics or by using zoomed in shots.