Persuasion: Transforming Scientific Evidence into Powerful Stories

In August, I was asked to come to Kigali, Rwanda to help lead a training workshop for the International Potato Center. Like many people, I was bemused by the research center's name, but I had known of its existence for a few years. CIP, as it is more commonly known, has a vision of using roots and tubers to help the poor. Their work is fascinating, complex and often difficult to understand. CIP houses the world's premiere gene bank with over 6000(!) varietals. They are working not only to help resource-poor farmers overcome diseases that threaten their crops, but also to preserve thousands of vines for food security in the future.

Along with my co-presenter - Dave Poulson (Senior Associate Director of MSU’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism) - I was asked to help these distinguished scientists better articulate their stories.

At the start of the week, there was some understandable skepticism in the room. "So, you want us to write like children?" asked one of the participants. Absolutely not. What any funder wants, however, is to be able to understand what it is you are asking them to fund. Dense, jargon-laden text is not the best approach. Most funders are busy. They have families. They have hobbies. They have a lot of work on their plates. They do not want to spend 10 minutes trying to decipher what "21mg/Kg Fe and 13mg/Kg of Zn compared to 15 mg/Kg Fe and 8 mg/Kg Zn of commonly cultivated variety" actually means. And they won't. They will move on to something else and quickly leave that behind.

We spent much of the week working through difficult, dense passages and finding simpler ways to explain complex work. There were several breakthrough moments during the week, and the vast majority of the participants gave much improved research presentations on Friday morning.

It was deeply gratifying to witness scientists - who began the week reading type-written notes about diploids - shift into storytelling mode and convey their passion for their work.

If my own words don't adequately demonstrate this shift? Perhaps the comparison of the first picture with Day 5 (below) might help.