Reviewers are on a need-to-know basis

I recently reviewed a faculty member's grant application. It was a cool project! I could understand the importance, I had examples of application, I got the gist of how it would be carried out, etc. Only trouble was, there were quite a few paragraphs of technical information that I couldn't understand. Normally, this would be expected since many grant applications must include technical language to show reviewers, who are experts in the field, that you're on the cutting edge. However, the intended sponsor for this grant stated that they had laypeople on their review committee. So, I as a layperson reviewing this grant was a comparable reviewer.

All of this to say that when it comes to grant-writing, less is more. Your challenge is to write to your audience (your reviewers) as concisely as possible to clearly convey the great importance of your project and offer just enough justification and technical details to convince them you will be successful... and that's it! So, seems simple enough, but there are variables to consider as you decide what needs to go into and stay out of your grant application.

Who are your reviewers?
To figure out what your reviewers need to know, you need to first have a sense of who they are. Are they laypeople or experts? Are they in your field or not? Are they familiar with you or your area? To answer these questions, explore the website of your sponsor. Some sponsors will list their reviewers and some will describe the background of their reviewers. Sponsors will also describe the level of detail and background information they expect in their program announcement or grant application guide. Not surprisingly, to know what to tell them, we must first know who reviewers are.

What do they need to know?
Once we have a sense of who our reviewers are, we can then start to formulate what they need to know to make a decision on your project. No matter who they are, you always want to emphasize the importance of your work and the impact your work. You must also convince your reviewers that you will be successful in carrying out your project.

How do you best convey your project?
The language you use to convince your reviewers will vary based on your reviewers. For reviewers who are experts in your field, you'll want to demonstrate your knowledge of the field and relevant scholarship. However, make sure that you are careful that your discussion of the field doesn't get too tangential to your project. Stay focused, show your expertise, and bring it back to your compelling case. Start with your case and end with your case. For laypeople, you'll also want to convince them that you and your project are the way to go, but you'll need to use jargon-free and plain language to show them.

It may sound harsh to say, but at the end of the day, if your grant proposal doesn't speak to your reviewers in whatever way, it's your fault. If you didn't know who they would be or what they needed to know, it's of no use to blame them for that. If your grant is rejected, use the reviewer comments to better understand them as an audience so you can better write for them when you resubmit.

Resources:
Confessions of a Grant Reviewer - Margaret Ring
Crafting a Sales Pitch for Your Grant Reviewer - Robert Porter

So, what do you do? (planning your holiday pitch)

Tis the season of the office holiday party! This may mean large department/university parties or lunches and/or it may mean office parties with your spouse or partner. Either way, you're bound to be asked..."So, what do you do?" We all get the question, we all expect it, but if you're anything like me it still often blind-sides you. This is a particularly difficult question for researchers, because what you do can be complex and hard to explain for different audiences. Sure, you can take the easy way out with, "I'm a Professor of Physics," receive an impressed look from your conversation partner, and ensure no further questions are asked, or you can use the opportunity to practice your research pitch with different audiences. Hey, depending on the party, maybe you're pitching someone who could be a resource.

So, this week I offer some tips on creating your holiday pitch!

Assess your audience
When headed to a social event, give some thought to who will be there and what their interests are. Will there be other researchers and academics at this party? Will there be entrepreneurs? Foundation representatives? Considering your audience beforehand can give you a headstart in planning your pitch, but don't be afraid of asking a question or two of the person you're talking with, such as, "Have you ever heard of the theory of X?" Or, "Are you familiar with Y disease?" Depending on the answer(s) you get to these precursory questions, you can skip over parts or give a brief explanation to set yourself up to describe your research.

Stay focused on impact
Key to giving your holiday pitch is to stay out of the weeds. To best explain your research, your conversationalist will likely be most interested in the importance of your work. What's the end result? If your research works to cure cancer, why not start there and offer more specifics as you go or as they ask? By focusing on the impact, your pitch will be clearer and more compelling.

Do not use jargon
I attended my spouse's office party this weekend (he works for a Tech startup) and when asked what I did, I simply said "I'm in research development." Most people thought this was just great, and the conversation didn't go much further, which was fine with me. But, I found myself wondering what picture they had in their head of research development. I'm quite certain that they weren't picturing me developing grant-writing seminars or writing this blog. Research development is jargon where you really don't know what it is if you aren't working in it and even then it's a pretty institution-dependent field. I say all this because I used jargon at this party to get out of any conversations about my work and I get the sense that some academics might do the same, drop a big word, offer no explanation and just wait for a topic change. However, you're doing amazing research, so share it with people, don't let the conversation drop prematurely. Remember, this is practice!

Offer scenarios
In an effort to avoid jargon and to better relate to your audience, think about scenarios or metaphors you can use to explain your research. For instance, saying, "Have you ever used a fit bit before?"
When someone says yes, you go on, "Well, I develop the technology that measures how far you've walked in a day." This is a very impact/application-focused way of describing what you do that most people can relate to.

Now, I'm not trying to trick you into a whole month of extra conversations about work that will make you a social outcast at next year's parties. Always, gauge what your conversation partner is interested in. If they aren't interested in really understanding your research, then let it go, ask them what they do and try another prompt next time to spark interest. Perhaps, next year, folks will be tracking you down to catch up and find out what interesting research you've been doing since you talked last.

Resources
Do schools kill creativity? - Sir Ken Robinson (This is a nice example of how to pitch your research and a funny bit about talking about research at parties)
Answering the dreaded "So, what do you do?" question - 99U