The lead scientist during the coronavirus pandemic has a gift for translating science into everyday language
According to Dr. Anthony Fauci’s wife, Christine Grady, his “enduring gift to society” is his ability to make complicated information easy for everyone to understand, from fourth graders to virologists.
During a short press briefing from the Oval Office on Wednesday morning, Fauci demonstrated this unique skill while announcing preliminary results from a large coronavirus treatment study.
In his 5-minute explanation, Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, gave viewers a mini-class in drug discovery and scientific research. Here’s how Fauci expertly speaks to multiple audiences with wide gaps in topic knowledge.
Translate scientific jargon.
A communicator can reach different audiences in the same conversation by delivering the information in scientific language or industry jargon, followed quickly by a simpler sentence for everyone else.
For example, Wednesday’s briefing involved Gilead’s experimental drug, remdesivir. According to Fauci, the international study shows that patients on remdesivir have a ‘faster time to recovery’ than those on a placebo.
What does that mean?
“It means the ability to be discharged [from a hospital],” according to Fauci.
“The data shows that remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect.” Simply put, patients with advanced Covid-19 recovered faster than similar patients who received a placebo.
Establish credibility for the study.
Fauci is very careful with his words, refusing to speculate on reporter’s questions until he’s seen the data for himself. In this case, Fauci wants the public to know the study is significant.
In science, a larger sample size has more power. Here’s how Fauci explained it:
“It was highly-powered with about 1,090 plus individuals. So, it is the first truly high powered randomized placebo-controlled trial. It was an international trial involving multiple sites, not only in the United States, but in various countries throughout the world, including Germany, Denmark, Spain, Greece, and the U.K.”
Fauci also emphasized that the board of experts who review the results are independent of the study or the company producing the experimental drug. “So there’s no prejudice on the part of the investigators.”
In a few sentences, Fauci added a massive amount of credibility to the study. He could have gone much further, of course, but he gave just enough information to meet the needs of the average viewer.
Persuasion requires evidence and credibility for the organization providing the evidence.
Emphasize the headline.
People want the big picture before getting immersed in details. An effective science communicator cuts through the clutter to extract a short summary of the research.
Fauci summarized the study by saying, “It proves that a drug can block this virus.”
USA Today quickly ran an article with the headline: Remdesivir study shows drug can block virus. The Associated Press also ran with a similar headline: A study on the drug Remdesivir shows that it “can block” the coronavirus.
Don’t expect your listeners to extract your main point. Hand it to them.
Put numbers in perspective
According to the study’s preliminary results, patients who received remdesivir had a 31% faster time to recovery. Fauci acknowledged that, to the average person, 31% doesn’t seem “like a knockout.” But it is significant, he emphasized.
“It is a very important proof of concept…it’s opening the door to the fact that we now have the capability of treating [Covid-19]. And I can guarantee you—as more people, more companies, more investigators—involved, it’s going to get better and better.”
Scientific discoveries don’t advance on their own. They need skilled communicators to translate the data into everyday language. Anthony Fauci is a role model for how to do it.