5. Andy Matthews & Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall on using comedy to make your research more approachable
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Today's episode is a deep dive with comedians Andy Matthews and Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall.
Andy and Alasdair host the science comedy quiz show "The Pop Test" on Radio National and inject their love of science into so much of the comedy they've produced — including their incredible live shows "Magma" and "Teleport".
Our conversation covers —
How jokes, playfulness, and great metaphors can help you hook your audience
The importance of understanding and representing your audience's point of view
Putting together a team for your comms/engagement project, and a whole lot more...
Enjoy, and stay tuned for next week's episode with Dr Simona Carbone on communicating like a leader. We'll be releasing weekly for the first 12 episodes, and then switching to every other week to give us a bit more time to release some of the other exciting Amplifying Research projects we have in store for you.
Find Andy online:
https://twitter.com/stupidoldandy
Find Alasdair online:
https://twitter.com/Alasdairtb
https://www.instagram.com/atremblaybirchall
Their comedy:
The Pop Test
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/the-pop-test
Magma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHp3rH6AzPg
Teleport
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJWzVvI6d6s
Two in the Think Tank podcast
https://shows.acast.com/two-in-the-think-tank
Gustav & Henri — Andy's sci-fi children's book series
Find Chris online:
https://www.amplifyingresearch.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrispahlow
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Opening quote
(00:00:34) Intro
(00:02:44) What is The Pop Test?
(00:12:47) Metaphors
(00:17:42) Don't talk down to your audience
(00:19:04) How can researchers approach "jokes"?
(00:22:11) Representing the audience's POV
(00:27:41) Putting together a team to help you communicate
(00:32:01) Hooking your audience with jokes and "brain explosions"
(00:34:45) The importance of guiding your audience using structure
(00:37:31) Don't forget to slow down and check in with your audience
(00:40:49) Sci comms progresses at the rate of its metaphors
(00:43:09) Have fun with the science AND the communication
Quotes:
"There's a kind of comedy that comes from metaphors and analogies..."
"Jokes have their own structure, and facts have their own structure, and you can use one to help understand the other. Really, it's a joke, yes, but also it's just a metaphor or an analogy that helps to explain a concept. It's just an enjoyable one."
"Be alert for the little gems along the way..."
"What people understand and connect with is stories... Don't overlook the fact that you've got your own story to tell... Because that's just as compelling for an audience. Why did you get into this? Why did you approach the things you did in the way that you did? Why wasn't it ideal? What made this the right way to tackle things? And where did you get to?"
"Don't remove the humanity from your story. Especially if you are under pressure, you might be like, right, I've just got to get out all the facts and I've got to communicate the information there. But if you want it to hit home and be something that people take away with them, don't get rid of too much of that human stuff, cause that is really what people will connect with."
"There's nothing more joyful than seeing somebody allow themselves to be the little weirdo that they are. It's like the little kid that is interested in that topic that eventually does become that expert... An expert is not as fun as the little kid who wants to be the expert. "
"People enjoy seeing somebody love something. And if you love it and you're capable of communicating to people why it's so great, you can spread that same enthusiasm for that topic."
"A lot of good science communication is disabusing people of misconceptions. And, really, comedians are misconception machines."
"It's about delivering the right pieces of information in the right order at the right time."
"If you're trying to answer somebody's question or get some information across, actually a big part of that for you as the communicator is asking questions yourself... Have you had this experience? Do you know how this happens? And have you ever noticed this? Because then, by its very nature, you're making it relatable and you're engaging them and you're not just spewing this information out"
