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							<p>As researchers assume wider responsibilities, the audiences they interact with change. Discussing your research with colleagues in your department is not the same as speaking with a journalist or addressing a public forum. Each audience has different needs, experiences and levels of understanding. Because of this, you should begin by asking two key questions:</p>
							
							<ol>
								<li><strong>Audience:</strong> Who are you communicating with?</li>
								<li><strong>Strategy:</strong> What is the best way to communicate with that audience?</li>
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							<p>As the person with research expertise, you have a responsibility to understand your audience, communicate appropriately and ensure there are no misunderstandings.</p>
							
							<h3>Audience</h3>
							
							<p>Identifying your audience is not a simple task. Anything you write or say as a researcher could be for one of three audiences:</p>
							
							<ul>
								<li><strong>Private</strong> &ndash; for select individuals or audiences</li>
								<li><strong>Professional</strong> &ndash; for professional colleagues</li>
								<li><strong>Public</strong> &ndash; for anyone.</li>
							</ul>
							
							<p>Although you might want to distinguish between these three groups, is it truly possible to do so?</p>
							
							<instructional-text><p>To test which distinctions you believe can be made, drag each means of communicating research into the column (private, professional or public) that you feel it is most appropriate for. You can then click "Feedback" for our thoughts on which classifications are most appropriate.</p></instructional-text>
							<instructional-text-accessible><p>In the next activity, classify each means of communicating research into private, professional or public to test which distinctions you believe can be made. Continue on for our thoughts on which classifications are most appropriate.</p></instructional-text-accessible>
							
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							<classification>
								<any-category-answers>
									<classify-item><p>Private conversation</p></classify-item>
									<classify-item><p>Casual conversation</p></classify-item>
									<classify-item><p>Research group/seminar presentation</p></classify-item>
									<classify-item><p>Conference presentation</p></classify-item>
									<classify-item><p>Scholarly publication</p></classify-item>
									<classify-item><p>Email</p></classify-item>
									<classify-item><p>Press release</p></classify-item>
									<classify-item><p>Social media post</p></classify-item>
								</any-category-answers>
								<categories>
									<category><category-heading>Private</category-heading></category>
									<category><category-heading>Professional</category-heading></category>
									<category><category-heading>Public</category-heading></category>
								</categories>
							</classification>
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									<h4>Feedback:</h4>
								</accessible-text>
								<p>Press releases are clearly intended for the public.</p>
								<p>Research presentations, conference presentations and scholarly publications are generally intended for professional audiences, even though they are often publicly available.</p>
								<p>Private conversations and emails might be intended as private, but this is no guarantee that they will not in some way be made public (for example, through freedom of information ('FOI') requests).</p>
								<p>Casual conversations and social media posts might also be intended as private, but can easily be shared and essentially made public.</p>
							</feedback-reveal>
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							<p>If you had trouble placing these means of communication into any single column, this is probably because communication tools can be used in different ways. For example, you might use a <em>protected</em> Twitter account solely for interaction with a select group of colleagues; or you might use a <em>public</em> Twitter account to engage the general public.</p>
							<p>Whatever your <em>intended</em> audience, you may not be able to control how your communications are used. On account of this, you should always think carefully before you say or write anything &ndash; especially if you would not want to see it published on the front page of a newspaper!</p>
							
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							<h3>Communication strategies</h3>

							<p>A typical academic strategy might cover the following:</p>
							
							<ol>
								<li>Talk with your mentor/supervisor</li>
								<li>Share your research with your team or immediate colleagues to receive comments and feedback </li>
								<li>Present a conference paper</li>
								<li>Publish.</li>
							</ol>
							
							<p>However, what happens when there are other parallel communication options available? Is it always wise to share your research with colleagues first? When should you make your work available to the public, and how?</p>
							
							<instructional-text><p>Consider the range of communication options presented below, and put them in the order in which you believe they should be undertaken. Then click "Feedback" for our thoughts on the challenges inherent in the task of choosing the order in which you communicate your findings.</p></instructional-text>
							<instructional-text-accessible><p>Consider the range of communication options presented in the following activity and put them in the order in which you believe they should be undertaken. Then continue on for our thoughts on the challenges inherent in the task of choosing the order in which you communicate your findings.</p></instructional-text-accessible>
							
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							<paragraph-sequencing>
								<any-sequence-order>
									<sequence-item>Let your intellectual property (IP) office know what you are doing</sequence-item>
									<sequence-item>Share ideas with your supervisor or research leader</sequence-item>
									<sequence-item>Tell your friends and family what you are doing</sequence-item>
									<sequence-item>Share a few details with your professional social network group to get some initial feedback</sequence-item>
									<sequence-item>Issue a press release</sequence-item>
									<sequence-item>Present a talk at your professional meetings</sequence-item>
									<sequence-item>Explore a book or movie contract</sequence-item>
									<sequence-item>Publish a scholarly paper</sequence-item>
									<sequence-item>Present your work at a public event</sequence-item>
									<sequence-item>Notify your university's press office</sequence-item>
								</any-sequence-order>
							</paragraph-sequencing>
							<!-- feedback -->
							<feedback-reveal>
								<accessible-text>
									<h4>Feedback:</h4>
								</accessible-text>
								<p>There are many factors that determine what sort of communication strategy is needed (e.g. discipline area, scope of the research, level of public interest). However, when you are developing your strategy, you should keep two important principles in mind:</p>
								<ol>
									<li>Avoid making any public statements about your work before your results have been confirmed through scholarly publication</li>
									<li>Respect your obligations to colleagues who have, in some way, been part of your research project. For example, it is irresponsible for one partner/collaborator in a research collaboration to steal the spotlight by issuing a press release without involving the other partners/collaborators.</li>
								</ol>
							</feedback-reveal>
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							<p>Whether you are working as a researcher or taking on some other role in research, it is essential to consider not only how each piece of communication will be understood and used, but also how your communications serve your colleagues and the public as a whole. Beware of the tendency among some groups (especially journalists/press officers) to exaggerate the significance of research, and take steps to safeguard against this.</p>
							
							<h3>Summary</h3>
							
							<p>Researchers are puzzle solvers. Your friends, colleagues and members of the public will be interested in the puzzles you are solving. When someone says "tell me about your research", you should think carefully about how to respond. You should consider the following questions whenever you are communicating your research:</p>
							
							<ul>
								<li>What can your audience understand?</li>
								<li>Why are they interested in your work?</li>
								<li>What do they need to know to understand your work?</li>
								<li>What is the best strategy for promoting proper and responsible understanding?</li>
								<li>How can you guard against exaggeration?</li>
							</ul>
							
							<p>Responsible public communication begins with understanding your audience and how you can best communicate with them.</p>
							
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