Storytelling for Science Communication – Facts Deserve Good Stories (May 27th-28th, 2024)
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Facts are often forgotten, ignored or denied. As inconvenient and frustrating as this may feel, it is a deeply rooted human trait. But knowledge and innovation shape our society, and scientists cannot afford to be discouraged from talking about their insights. It is not what scientists communicate that causes these problems, it is how they do it.
Storytelling is a powerful communication tool, increasingly used in industry and science as a more memorable, comprehensible and compelling way to communicate. Stories do not replace other forms of communication, but they make them more accessible. The complexity of science and the potential for misunderstanding make communicating facts one of the most difficult challenges. But storytelling, done right, can help you connect with your audience and get your message across, even when that message is neither easy nor welcome.
Learning Objectives
In this workshop you will learn why storytelling is such a powerful tool and when and why to use it. You will learn what makes a story, how it works and how it creates the effect it has on the audience. You will also learn how to create a fact-based story using a method that is easily applicable to science.
In practical exercises, you will be able to create a variety of stories – starting with short fictional stories and moving on to a story based on your own research. You will have the opportunity to help others with their process and learn from their approach as well as their feedback on your own efforts.
Agenda
- The What and Why of Stories
- Types of Stories
- Storyteller and Audience
- Key Message and Theme
- Story Structure and Design
- Character, Antagonist and Empathy
- How to Write/Edit a Story
- Optional: Storytelling with Data
Target group: Doctoral candidates, postdocs and science communicators who are open to learning how to create stories to communicate scientific and factual information to audiences outside the scientific community
Trainer: Annemarie Mattmann | Storyhorizon
Language: English
Date/Time:
- Monday, May 27th, 2024 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
- Tuesday, May 28th, 2024 | 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: S1|21 Ingenium House (Magdalenenstr. 25), Room A105
Registration: Please fill in the Ingenium registration form (wird in neuem Tab geöffnet).
Annemarie Mattmann (wird in neuem Tab geöffnet) holds a Master's degree in Computer Science from TU Darmstadt. She developed her storytelling skills as a hobby, writing fantasy novels from an early age. Since then, while working for a year at CERN and as a researcher at the Secure Mobile Networks Lab at TU Darmstadt, she has adapted and applied these skills to various communication challenges within and outside of science. Since 2023 she has been self-employed, teaching storytelling and story techniques and creating stories to communicate science and facts. Her portfolio covers a wide range of creative work, including fiction short stories, scripts for short films about science, story-based presentations and the story for a serious game.
Motto: Say yes to opportunities that scare you. The fear will go away, but the opportunities won't come back.
You would like to participate in Ingenium events but do not have child care during that time? Here you can find more information about short-term child care at TU Darmstadt (wird in neuem Tab geöffnet).
