Sunday Funday: Teaching Scientists Social Skills

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday!

This edition of Sunday Funday is features a short segment from NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday about BioToasters–a public speaking organization for scientists.

Here is how the story began:

About 20 scientists are clustered in a cramped conference room in San Diego, one of the country’s science hubs, but they aren’t there to pore over their latest research. Instead, this is a meeting of BioToasters — a chapter of the public speaking organization Toastmasters, geared specifically toward scientists.

“For a typical scientist, they will spend a lot of time at the bench, so they’re doing a lot of maybe calculations or lab work where they’re not interacting directly from person to person,” says BioToasters President Zackary Prag, a lab equipment sales rep.

But scientists still often need to be able to speak to a crowd: Academics give seminars; pharmaceutical researchers present results; and graduate students defend their work in front of their professors and peers. Prag says it’s important to learn to speak clearly and make small talk.

At a recent meeting, two other Biotoasters were doing just that. New member Gina Salazar gave a presentation on “meeting girls and guys — pickup for smart people.”

Salazar practiced with member Greg Mrachko. “You’re adorable! You really look like Michael J. Fox,” she said to him, as the rest of the club laughed. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Michael J. Fox?” he responded. “Probably because of my new haircut.”

Practicing these social graces leads to better public speaking, and that’s important for a scientist’s career, says Union College physics professor Chad Orzel.

“Part of the way you make a reputation within the field is by giving talks at meetings, and then people see you give the talk and say, ‘Oh, that person gave a really good talk. They must be really smart,’ ” he says.

Orzel says part of a science professor’s job interview is giving an hour-long seminar. “In academia, we’re hiring people who are going to be expected to teach classes as well, so it’s absolutely critical that you be able to give a good talk,” he says

For more public policy related video/audio, be sure to check out the SLACE Archive.