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Speak from your heart
Marion West
Astronomer, Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory, South Africa
There is a wonder associated with the vastness and the beauty of the Universe in which we find ourselves. I do not think that I have met a single person who is not touched and awed by the facts of astronomy when they are presented with them. To communicate the science of astronomy (or any subject) effectively I think that there are two very important ingredients: you need to be passionate about your subject and you need to be passionate about people. Even if your presentation skills are not very well developed, passion communicates to people. If you are only passionate about your subject, you will very often lose those who do not see things from the same perspective as you do. If you are only passionate about people, you will not communicate effectively about your subject.
Passion for your subject ensures that you are informed and up to date, as far as is within your capabilities, on what is happening in your particular field and in the broader aspects of that field. For instance, I don't always know all the latest developments in astronomy, but I do keep up with the websites that communicate the latest news, so that I am relatively well informed. However I am never afraid to say that I am unaware of a particular development. I read as widely as I can, but it is entirely possible that members of the general public will pick up on snippets that I miss. In these instances I simply say that I do not know and I may even offer to find out more for the person, if I think that I could follow up on it relatively easily.
Passion for people gives you a touchstone to their souls. If you really care about people, they can sense it. Passion for people cannot be learnt. It is something you may have more or less of (I think everyone has at least a bit) and it can grow if you are willing to allow it to. It is risky though, because when you are passionate about people you hurt easily, but you also experience the joy of touching other souls no matter how briefly.
Of course, presentation skills are also very important and whatever you can learn about making your presentation better is always valuable. Listen to those who offer you pointers on how to improve on what you are doing. Try out their suggestions and see whether they work for you. Go with what is helpful to you and leave aside that which is not.
Not everyone is cut out to be a communicator, so don't feel bad if this is not your gifting! But if you love your work and you love people, then don't hide this treasure from others - you can bring great joy to others by sharing with them something of what inspires you (and you may make some wonderful and unexpected friends along the way).
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