110: Brian Palermo on Overcoming the Challenges of Science Communication

Science communication can often be challenging… and at times, make even the most talented scientists, reporters, and educators reluctant to take on the task of communicating scientific findings and new discoveries. In this episode, Brian Palermo infuses his expertise from his experience with improvisation and acting to help us better communicate science! By implementing strategies from improv (think of the "yes, AND" approach to conversations), Brian shows how all of us can easily communicate information successfully through story.

Brian Palermo is a professional actor and communications expert who works with executives, business leaders, and audiences teaching the art of improv to present powerful (and funny) stories.

In this Casual conversation Brian Palermo will help us:

- implement improv in your daily conversations to better connect with peers, colleagues, even family members (even your kids)!!

- enjoy excerpts from Brian's book; Connection, Hollywood Storytelling Meets Critical Thinking- where a former scientist, a story consultant, and an improv actor come together to give you the critical thinking of science combined with a century of Hollywood knowledge in the creation and shaping of stories!

-laugh! Stories about science and space can be fun and inspirational, and Brian reminds us that storytelling should be .

I really enjoyed this conversation with Brian and plan on continuing to follow him on TV, in the movies- and if you are in the LA area, you can find Brian perform as an improv stand up actor every Wednesday in the Groundlings in Hollywood.

From the Show:

​Beth: Can we bridge our science-illiterate nation via story??

Brian: "We can, and I think that's one great tool to do it, but you know, having the concept of, "We need to use story" is great, but having the ability to execute that is very hard. It's not easy to construct a story – to take science data and construct it into narrative form is very difficult, AND, to deliver it, to present it to other humans is another challenge. It's doable, but it takes work to get there."

-Brian Palermo from Casual Space Podcast

To learn more about Brian Palermo, go to: https://www.palermoimprovtraining.com/about

We mentioned Randy Olsen's book: https://www.amazon.com/Houston-We-Have-Narrative-Science/dp/022627084X

And of course, check out Brian's book with Randy Olsen, and Dorie Barton, "Connection. Hollywood Storytelling Meets Critical Thinking." https://www.amazon.com/Connection-Hollywood-Storytelling-Critical-Thinking/dp/0615872387/ref=asc_df_0615872387/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=265958393932&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16145716171067840377&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021552&hvtargid=pla-538612589161&psc=1