FrankNu Blog

On the FrankNu blog you will find articles about science communication and communication science. With tips, in-depth articles on communication theories and everything in-between.
Good communication starts with listening

Good communication starts with listening

What I have come to think differently about, the website Beste ID asked me and 76 other scientists, administrators, philosophers, journalists and other thinkers. That is that good communication is above all about listening. And thus that some scientists are at least partly responsible for the growing gap between science and the practically educated in society.

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“If you can talk, you can communicate”

“If you can talk, you can communicate”

Members of the association SciComNL have expressed what they consider important for the National Centre for Science Communication that is to be established. Especially knowledge development and knowledge sharing are, in my opinion, essential functions of such a body.

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Politics and media: focus on content

Politics and media: focus on content

It is to be hoped that the freshly appointed ministers and state secretaries in the Netherlands are less concerned with image than with the content of their work. But I hope that the media will also take responsibility in this process.

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Experts in action: from megaphone to megachat

Experts in action: from megaphone to megachat

Experts often employ their megaphone to disseminate information to their audiences. A recent scientific study encourages them to rather engage in a dialogue and not only teach their audience, but also learn from them. In other words, experts should increase their perspectivist flexibility. Because science communication is the social conversation around science.

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Want to change people’s behaviour? Then stop telling them what to do.

Want to change people’s behaviour? Then stop telling them what to do.

Giving people information is one of the most used strategies for communicating science. But what if you want the information you are giving to actually change their behaviour, like stimulating people to adhere to the corona measures? This essay discusses the limitations of only giving information when trying to influence behaviour.

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Science Communication – an introduction

Science Communication – an introduction

The new academic textbook Science Communication, an introduction, is an excellent study guide for both students and professionals in the field of science communication. One of the reasons I’m particularly excited about its release is that it contains a chapter on Science Journalism that Mark Bos and I wrote, which gives a high-level overview of the field and the challenges it is facing.

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ScienceOnline starts in Leiden

ScienceOnline starts in Leiden

Every year in the United States, the popular ScienceOnline conference is held for anyone who communicates about science and uses new and social media to do so. Frank Nuijens, editor-in-chief at TU Delft and science journalist, went there for the first time in February 2013 and was so enthusiastic that he took the initiative for a ScienceOnline Leiden community. He explains why.

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