When Science Speaks – Details, episodes & analysis

This insightful episode features Emmanuel Tsekleves, Ph.D., a full professor at Lancaster University and research director in Lancashire, England. Emmanuel shares his personal journey from Ph.D. graduate to full professor by age 40 and offers invaluable advice on how Ph.D. candidates, postdocs, and early-career academics can successfully navigate the complex academic job market. From avoiding common application mistakes to the importance of securing funding, this conversation is packed with practical tips for aspiring academics.

• Start Early & Learn from Mistakes: Dr. Tsekleves highlights the importance of mentors and learning from early mistakes in his academic journey. He emphasizes that mistakes can be powerful learning tools but suggests it's even better to learn from others' experiences.

• Transitioning from Postdoc to Assistant Professor: Many postdocs fall into the trap of discussing future research plans rather than focusing on securing funding. Emmanuel explains how this common pitfall can hinder postdocs' chances of securing tenure-track positions.

• Application Quality vs. Quantity: Sending out many generic applications will likely yield poor results. Emmanuel stresses the importance of focusing on a single application, conducting thorough research on the institution, and aligning your application materials with their specific needs.

• Speak to the Postholder: Before submitting an application, Emmanuel suggests reaching out to the academic contact listed in the job ad. This helps you gain insider information, shows genuine interest, and gives you visibility with those making hiring decisions.

• Show How You Add Value: Instead of listing your qualifications, demonstrate how your skills and experience align with the needs of the institution. Show how you can contribute to their teaching programs, research groups, and overall mission.

1. Avoid Common Pitfalls: Postdocs need to shift their mindset from talking about research to discussing the funding they can attract. Learn to demonstrate value by focusing on what you bring to the institution.

2. Prioritize Quality Over Quantity: Tailor each application specifically to the institution and role, showing how your research and teaching expertise fit their culture and objectives.

3. Engage with the Hiring Institution: Reach out to the postholder before submitting your application. It gives you a chance to learn more about the role and make a strong impression.

4. Research and Personalize Your Applications: Whether you're applying for a postdoc or a tenure-track position, be sure to thoroughly research the department and align your cover letter, research statement, and teaching statement with their current projects.

Dr. Emmanuel Tsekleves is a professor at Lancaster University, where he also serves as research director. His work includes mentoring early and mid-career academics, helping them publish high-quality research, secure funding, and navigate the academic job market. He offers a variety of resources, including training programs and his popular newsletter, Academic Insider.

Connect with Dr. Emmanuel Tsekleves:

• LinkedIn: Emmanuel Tsekleves
• Twitter/X: @EmmanuelTsekleves
• Instagram: @EmmanuelTsekleves

Bridging the Communication Gap for Scientists and Engineers: Insights from "Speak Like a CEO"  Thought Leader Oliver Aust

In this episode of When Science Speaks, I sit down with Oliver Aust, one of the world's preeminent experts on leadership communications. Oliver has helped hundreds of founders and CEOs become top 1% communicators, including many leaders with a scientific or engineering background.

Oliver shares actionable tips and insights in his books, LinkedIn and newsletter, as well as on his popular podcast, Speak Like a CEO. Those interested in working with Oliver can join the Speak Like a CEO Academy (links to Oliver's offerings in the Resources section below).

During the episode, Oliver highlights common communication challenges and offers strategies for improvement, such as using clear structures, storytelling, and simplifying language. He also emphasizes the importance of understanding one's audience and dealing with linguistic nuances for non-native English speakers. 

00:00 Introduction: The Power of Clear Communication

00:21 Challenges for Scientists and Engineers

00:39 Career Transition Beyond Academia

00:54 Exploring Communication Improvement Options

01:00 Guest Introduction: Oliver Aust

01:57 Common Communication Blind Spots

03:28 Transforming Leadership Communication

04:41 Practical Hacks for Effective Communication

06:18 Case Studies and Real-World Examples

10:33 Overcoming Language Barriers

16:44 Final Thoughts and Actionable Tips

19:08 Conclusion

Resources Mentioned in the Episode

Oliver's LinkedIN profile

Oliver's books: Available on this page 

• Message Machine: How Communications Will Make You an Unstoppable Founder

• Unignorable: Build Your Personal Brand and Boost Your Business in 30 Days

• Mastering Communications: How CEOs and Executives Can Build a Great Reputation in the Digital Age

• How to Speak Like a CEO: How successful leaders communicate

Speak Like a CEO:

• Podcast

• Newsletter

• Academy

As the podcast enters its fifth season (220 episodes and counting!), I'm incorporating shorter segments with my commentary on key communication topics - like:

• How to make your presentation engaging and memorable
• The most effective ways to translate complexity so your listeners understand and retain your message
• Shaping your writing so it's crisp and captures your readers attention

The show will still include interviews as always.

Have a topic about writing, presentating, or moving your priorities forward?  

Drop a comment at the show's Youtube channel at WhenScienceSpeaks podcast.

This week's episode features Russ Harrison, Director of Government Relations for IEEE-USA, the American component of the world's largest technical professional society, IEEE, with nearly 170,000 individual members across the United States. IEEE-USA supports the career growth and public policy interests of its members, who are technical professionals.

Our conversation covered a range of advocacy and policy issues, including:

• Common misperceptions about policymaking Russ hears from audiences during his frequent talks with IEEE-USA members, their questions, and how he responds to them

• Areas Russ believes technical professionals - in general - need to further develop to be successful as advocates for their policy priorities

• Which assets technical professionals have in interactions with policymakers and their staffs - including some that perhaps engineers, for example, don't even realize they have

• How advocacy has been affected by COVID

• Central principles of Russ's own advocacy approach, and how his approach has developed over the years

• IEEE-USA's priorities for shaping policy and how Russ sees policy and regulation developing in the future

This week's episode features, Roshni Rao, PhD, inaugural Director of PHutures, the new resource for PhDs and Postdocs at the Johns Hopkins University, discussing professional development, life design and connections.

Topics include: 

The PHutures initiative at Johns Hopkins - its mission and Roshni's goals for the program

What it was like and how she was able to address and overcome the challenges associated with all the major, on-the-fly changes required by the pandemic

The kinds of programming PHutures offers 

As a leader who earned her PhD in the U.S. and did her Postdoc in Washington, DC, how her perspective on the international PhD and Postdoc experience is influenced by her own first-hand experience.

How being a non-U.S. citizen studying and training in the U.S. at the PhD and Postdoc levels ties to career exploration and also how Roshni is addressing - as director of PHutures - some of these specific challenges, like navigating visas

As someone now in a leadership role at one of the most prestigious U.S. universities, does imposter syndrome still manifest itself and how Roshni helps PhD students and Postdocs cope with - and hopefully conquer - imposter syndrome

What Roshni means by "relationship building" when she emphasizes its importance to her students and trainees and how she "teaches" it, if you will, along with examples or illustrations she uses to help her program participants internalize it

How relationship-building has benefited her career and whether she always was adept at building professional relationships

One thing that listeners could do today to initiate or strengthen a beneficial professional relationship?

Looking over the horizon, how she sees demand across PhD and Postdoc programs in the U.S. developing for the types of transferable skills that PHutures offers

In this week's episode, I'm joined by Palesa Mothapo, Ph.D., Head of Postdoctoral Research Support in Stellenbosch University's Division for Research Development located in Stellenbosch, South Africa's Western Cape province, for an informative and interesting discussion of topics including: 

- How Palesa first developed her interest in Zoology and then later, decided to focus on invasive species

- In her role at Stellenbosch University, where she helps postdocs making the transition from academia to industry, the types of skill development strategies and resources she draws upon in working with her trainees

- Which knowledge, skills, or abilities postdocs typically already possess that Palesa finds are most relevant to a transition to industry, and which are often most in need of further development

- How Palesa goes about helping trainees learn to effectively communicate complex scientific topics to general audiences and her own approach to translating and distilling her research work so it's engaging and accessible to non-experts

- What it was like for Palesa to serve as a Mandela Washington Fellow in 2018 and how she feels the experience may have influenced her perspective and work

- Palesa's plans and goals for 2021

In Dr. Kahnweiler's second appearance on the show, the "Champion of Introverts" discusses her new book, "Creating Introvert-Friendly Workplaces", and a range of related topics, including: 

- The benefits and risks for introverts of remote work and how to avoid "Creative Paralysis"

- Finding the right balance of connection and downtime for introverts, who tend to need time alone to recharge, and the role of co-working spaces as a way to strike that balance

- How the "Introvert Revolution", as Dr. Kahnweiler calls it, has shaped attitudes of employers over time with respect to introverts

- Should introverts mention that personality trait during a job interview with a potential employer?

- How and whether extroverts should strive to also tap into characteristics of introverts - to be an ambivert, as she mentions in your book ?

- How Dr. Kahnweiler sees the environment for introverts post-pandemic, in terms of the prevalence of introvert-friendly polices, more commonly accepted communication channels, and related issues

Jovana Milosavljevic-Ardeljan, Ph.D. is a scholar from Serbia who came to the U.S. in 2014 to pursue a master's degree in Linguistics and stayed for her Ph.D. in Education specializing in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies.

In this episode, we discuss a range of science communication and mentoring topics affecting Ph.D.s, including:

• Why Science communication skills and their importance tends to be downplayed in Ph.D. programs
• The consequences of underdeveloped communication skills in various settings, from employment to mentoring relationships
• How Jovana's experience teaching English as a second language in her home country of Serbia informs her current work at University of New Hampshire
• Themes and learnings for healthy, productive mentor-mentee relationships covered during the 3-part series on mentor-mentee relationships she developed and delivers
• The Northeast U.S. and Canada regional competition of Three-Minute Thesis (3-MT)
• One thing listeners can do right after listening to the show that would improve their communication skills

In this special episode, executive coach, team effectiveness consultant, author, and podcast host Guy Bloom explains his "Living Brave" approach, talks about his new book "Living Brave Leadership" and related performance topics such as:

What's "Living Brave" leadership and how can it strengthen your own leadership muscles?

How Guy went from a 4-time martial arts Hall of Famer to a winner of the UK's Training Journal Magaine's Best Leadership Program

How Guy enables leaders, teams and organizations to lead without the need of positional power.

What Guy means by "Living Brave Leadership", the term he coined to describe his leadership approach

The types of services Guy delivers through his consulting firm

What Guy means about "Beating the Drum" within an organization until the organization resonates.

How can scientists - typically trained to follow the data - be effective leaders?

How does someone get the courage - particularly experts who know the facts and have the evidence - to speak up?

What's one thing listeners can do after the interview to start on the journey to "Living Brave"?

In a first father-daughter interview on the podcast, Bill and Emma Dauster discuss important science communication and policy issues, including:

– Approaches that Bill, a longtime public policy expert, has found scientists employ that are particularly effective in getting their message across to politicians and common missteps to avoid

– Notable differences between persuading a scientific advisor compared to a politician that a research project is important and/or deserving of funding

– How Emma's science background as a PhD student in Neuroscience and Behavior informs her views on politics

– When Bill was working in the Senate and the White House, which qualities and skills did effective scientist-staffers he supervised or worked with seem to possess

– The best entry points for scientists who want to get into the policy arena, including at the local, state, or federal level and  Legislative Branch compared to Executive Branch

– The importance of diversity in research 

– Scientists are trained to "follow the data", but public policies are shaped by, and embedded with, political considerations like the "equity" of a proposal, not just how efficient it may be, or the power of certain group in society to bend a policy to its benefit, for example. How these factors can challenge scientists interested in policymaking, as it's not just "all about the data"