Creating Connection through Stories
We love to relate to our fellow humans on matters big and small.
After 4+ years of isolation, I’m trying to get back to something I’ve missed over the course of pandemic: talking to people. Since I still don’t feel like opportunities to socialize are the same as they were before the pandemic, and I don’t have too much extra time at the moment, I’ve been chatting with folks over on our YouTube channel. It’s been fun! Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve challenged myself to do something I have never done before: take a leap into solo YouTube video ramble-journalism!
It all started earlier this month, when I tweeted a list of things I could ramble about for 30 minutes…
…Liz, who follows Fancy Comma on Twitter, replied to me, saying she’d love to hear me talk about those things!
So, I did my first ramble on public relations lessons from the Kardashians, which was surprisingly well-received. I rambled for 50 minutes, then edited it down to a half hour.
Then, I did another one on my neuroscience research, which was also met with a surprising amount of positivity. After I posted this video, someone reached out to me to tell me how inspired they were that I have been continuing my research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) outside of academia. It made my day!
From my experiences rambling on YouTube, I learned that people are interested in human stories even if they don’t have a coherent beginning, middle, and end. As long as you keep your ramble somewhat structured, it can be a fun way to connect with someone. We have a lot of different experiences in our lives and sometimes it can be cool to find that you relate to someone on something you’d never stopped to think about before!
One example I look up when it comes to chatty YouTube videos is in the makeup world. As I mention in the Kardashians video, I’m a huge Tati Westbrook fan and one thing she does well in her makeup YouTubes is chitchat as she’s working on putting on a new makeup look or trying new makeup products. She just talks about the challenges of her life and it’s really interesting, relatable, and even inspiring at times! I have learned many life lessons from Tati Westbrook beyond makeup.
So, my challenge for you, dear reader, is to look beyond traditional ways of human connection and apply creativity to come up with a way to bond with your fellow peeps outside of the traditional means. We have more things in common than we have differences.
Sign up for our FREE SciComm course
I hope to apply these learnings to the SciComm course I am teaching on Zoom starting February 27. Get in touch if you’d like to be added to the course. It meets every other week, through July 2, for a total of 12 sessions. For the content, I am using the FREE Fancy Comma add-on SciComm course I developed and posted on our site. Each class session will have a homework assignment. Participants who attend all lectures (or view the recordings on YouTube) and complete all assignments will earn a certification they can post on their website, social media, etc.
What else Fancy Comma’s been up to this month
We’ve been writing about global judicial systems, better juries through science, and important questions to ask yourself when writing for policymakers. I’ve been lucky to be able to work on some projects directly affecting healthcare policy this month, and I’m excited to do more in this space!
I’ve also been chatting with science communicators over on our YouTube this month:
Jason Tetro is Canada’s SciComm “it guy” and is famous as a live TV journalist communicating science and answering people’s science questions on air. He also was tapped to communicate Ebola science in 2014 when the crisis was affecting West Africa, when he worked with the World Health Organization.
Sandhya Shekhar, an opthalmologist working at Massachusetts General Hospital, has the goal of reaching 1 million people through SciComm.
Brendon Bosworth seeks to humanize science as a journalist working as a science communications trainer. He is based in Cape Town, South Africa, and focuses on communicating issues relating to environmental sustainability.
If it seems like we’re super busy this month, it’s because we have been! I can’t wait until things get less busy and I can take a bit of a break. I have 100+ content ideas — not just blogs but also video content ideas — and they’re just collecting dust in my Google Docs while I keep getting more and more ideas. I’m limited by time, my ability to make my ideas a reality on a limited budget, and the current state of the marketing industry. Seems like I keep hearing layoff news day after day in the journalism world.
My heart goes out to any laid-off journalists reading this — find awe in the everyday and make sure you are doing things that support you as a human — mind, body, and soul.
Cross your fingers for the global economy’s comeback!
That’s a wrap for the February newsletter! If you liked this newsletter, please share it to spread the wealth! :)