Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don't leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.
Alan AldaRead
If two scientists are giving their papers at a symposium, and one of them is just naturally better at talking to the public or talking to a group of people, that scientist is liable to get more attention - in fact, I'm told that they do get more attention - than the one who's a little more stiff about it. Well, that's not good for science.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Effective communication is essential in science; those who present better can overshadow equally valid work.
This quote emphasizes the importance of communication skills in the scientific community. Alan Alda points out that a scientist who can engage and connect with an audience often receives more attention than a more reserved colleague, regardless of the merits of their research. This highlights the potential drawbacks in the scientific discourse when presentation skills can influence recognition and credibility, suggesting that the ability to communicate complex ideas simply and engagingly is as crucial as the science itself.
Themes
CommunicationSciencePresentationAudienceAttention
In practice
Example use cases
In a seminar on scientific research, you could use this quote to stress the importance of engaging with the audience.
More from Alan Alda
All quotes →Begin challenging your own assumptions. Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won't come in.
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Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself.
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Here's my Golden Rule for a tarnished age: Be fair with others, but keep after them until they're fair with you.
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If you know what you're looking for, that's all you'll get - what's previously known. But when you're open to what's possible, you get something new - that's creativity.
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I found I wasn't asking good enough questions because I assumed I knew something. I would box them into a corner with a badly formed question, and they didn't know how to get out of it. Now, I let them take me through it step by step, and I listen.
Alan AldaRead
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