How to Make Complex Science Accessible

When people struggle to understand your words, they assume the problem is you. Not them. You might think complexity makes you sound smarter. It feels necessary. After all, you work in biotech. Precision matters. Accuracy is everything. But research from Princeton professor Daniel Oppenheimer says otherwise. He found something surprising: The more needlessly complex you are, the less intelligent people think you are. You don’t have to dumb things down. You just have to make them clear. Here’s how: 1. Use short sentences. Say what you need to say, then stop. 2. Choose common words. If a seventh grader wouldn’t understand it, reconsider. 3. Explain acronyms. Someone in your audience doesn't know what it means. It takes seconds to tell them. 4. Speak to help, not to impress. Being helpful makes it about them, being impressive makes it about you. 5. Test your message. If someone outside your field doesn’t get it, try again. Because being clear doesn’t mean being simplistic. It means being heard. And in biotech, being heard is how you make an impact.

Last week, someone who’s been working in climate communications for over a year quietly admitted they still didn’t totally understand what “lowering emissions” meant. Not the general vibe of it, but the actual why and how. I loved their honesty. It reminded me how often specialists in the space continue to throw around terms that even insiders don’t fully grasp. If we want the public, policymakers, and private sector to act, we have to stop communicating like we’re at a scientific conference. Here are 5 tools I use all the time to make complex climate and science ideas land: ✔️ The “Grandma Test” Can you explain the concept to your grandma without losing meaning? This test forces clarity without condescension—and it’s one of the fastest ways to reveal jargon you didn’t even know you were using. ✔️ Metaphor as a Bridge Metaphors are powerful shortcuts for understanding. For example, instead of saying “emissions reductions,” try: “Imagine your home has a slow gas leak. Cutting emissions is like finding and sealing that leak—before it gets worse.” It may take longer to say (a communications faux pas) but we process metaphors faster than data. ✔️ Chunk the Concept Break big ideas into bite-sized parts: What is it? Why does it matter? What can be done? Who’s doing it well? This format creates digestible flow and gives your audience mental “hooks” to follow you. ✔️ Visual Storytelling Not every concept needs a paragraph. Sometimes it just needs a sketch, a diagram, or a comparison chart. ✔️ Mirror the Audience Before I write or say anything, I ask: “What does this audience care about most?” Meeting people in their worldview is half the battle. I’ll be sharing more of the frameworks and strategies I use in future posts—but if your team is trying to translate climate science or sustainability language into something people actually understand and act on, C3 can help. Let’s make it make sense. 👉 Feel free to reach out or follow along for more tools from the Climate Communications Collective playbook.

I don't understand climate science. Or science, in general. But I need to translate complex climate science every day. #ClimateCommunications requires us to take complex topics and turn them into value-oriented, human-centered narratives that people can relate to. And businesses and organizations in #ClimateChange, #ClimateTech, or #CorporateSustainability, need to communicate complex science, technology, and BIG. CLIMATE. IDEAS. effectively and clearly. You're not going to sell the public on photovoltaic cells if you can't explain what a photovoltaic cell is and does. And organizations lose people when they don't communicate clearly. Some steps I take when translating complex energy science: 🔊 Read and re-read closely. Complex research contains heavy jargon and complex science terms. Read source material closely, making mental or physical notes for yourself on what you've read. 🔊 Compare your research with your source. Think you have the complex information translated well? Do some research to compare what you think you know with other evidence-based sources. Do you have agreement between them? There you go. 🔊 Read your writing (aloud, maybe!). Make sure you read your translated, general audience writing again and again. Is it clear? Does it still feel too technical? Retranslate and revise. 🔊 Consult experts. You're writing to communicate subject matter experts' complex ideas, but that doesn't mean you leave them out of the process. After all, they need their complex science or technology communicated in a way that's accurate and resonates with the audience. Once you've written a compelling story, return to your subject matter experts and have them review for accuracy. 🔊 Find a second pair of eyes. You've looked at your writing too much. Have someone else (doesn't need to be an expert) read your story. They can tell you if they get stuck or don't understand a term or idea. 🔊 Know your audience. Maybe your audience is technical or knows the technology well. If so, then more technical language may work for them. Make sure you understand your audience and tell a story with them in mind. 🔊 Create a clear message/headline. 🔊 Tell your audience why they should care. Communicate value. 🔊 Bonus: use metaphors to communicate complexity. I do this all the time. Metaphors can effectively translate complex ideas. Climate communications doesn't have to be dense. Tell stories that make it easier for your readers to care, take action, or find value in what you have to offer.