Science communication: explaining without betraying the science
Definition, what is at stake for companies, and the method of a science communication agency
- Writers with MDs and PhDs
- One piece of content, one reader, one level of language
- Every claim sourced and reviewed by your experts
- Formats to fit: article, video, podcast, pitch
Science communication, in the sense of popularization, means making technical and scientific knowledge accessible to a non-specialist audience without altering its accuracy. For a researcher, it is a responsibility. For a biotech, medtech or deeptech company, it is a condition of commercial survival: an innovation nobody understands does not get funded and does not sell.
This page presents what we mean by explaining science, the most frequent mistakes, and the method our scientific writers apply at DigiObs.
Contents
What is science communication?
Explaining science means translating: choosing what matters to the reader, replacing jargon with accurate words, explaining a mechanism through a controlled analogy, and giving the orders of magnitude that make a figure meaningful. It is neither simplifying to the point of misleading, nor piling up details the reader never asked for.
There are three levels of adaptation: the general public, who need a story and a stake; the non-specialist decision-maker (investor, buyer, journalist), who needs to understand the benefit and the evidence; and the peer from another discipline, who needs the method and the limits.
Why a scientific company must explain its science
A biotech convinces investors, industrial partners, clinicians and talent who do not all share the same training. A medtech must be understood by a hospital buyer. A deeptech must explain a technological breakthrough to a market that does not yet have the words to name it.
Recently, a fourth reader has appeared: answer engines. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews summarize your field from what has been published. Clear, structured, sourced content has a better chance of being picked up faithfully than a dense, allusive text.
A scientific topic to make readable?
Article, web page, video script or pitch: our scientific writers explain your science without betraying it.
The five most frequent mistakes
Unexplained jargon: an acronym or a trade term used as if everyone knew it
Simplification that becomes inaccuracy: a shortcut an expert will dispute
No stake: describing the technology without saying which problem it solves and for whom
Figures without scale: a performance announced with no point of comparison
A story without evidence: promises nothing backs up, which technical audiences and AI engines penalize
The DigiObs method for explaining without betraying
- Understand first: our writers, with MDs and PhDs, read the publications, interview your scientists and rephrase the mechanism until they have understood it themselves.
- Choose the reader: each piece of content targets one audience and one only, with its level of language, its questions and the evidence it expects.
- Build the progression: from the stake to the mechanism, from the mechanism to the evidence, from the evidence to the use. Analogies are tested so they do not create false ideas.
- Source and have it reviewed: every claim points to a source; the text is validated by your experts before publication.
- Adapt the format: article, infographic, video or podcast script, pitch script. The same knowledge is told differently depending on the medium.
Concrete examples
For Imavita, a preclinical CRO specializing in imaging, we made a complex scientific service offering readable on a new website. For Amarok Biotechnologies, an in vitro research and testing laboratory, the rebranding was built on a clear explanation of what the laboratory does and for whom. Our article on PyMOL alternatives shows how a highly technical subject can become a comparison non-specialists can use.
Going further
Four articles extend this guide, from the concrete case to fundraising.
They trust us
Many companies and institutions entrust us with their science communication, website design, campaigns and strategy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between popularization and science communication?
Popularization is a writing and explaining technique: making knowledge accessible. Science communication is the overall approach: deciding what to say, to whom, on which channels, with which goals. Popularization is one of the tools of science communication.
Can a popularized text remain rigorous?
Yes, provided you choose what you leave out rather than distorting what you keep. A good popularized text is accurate for an expert and clear for a non-specialist. This is what our MD and PhD writers check before publication.
Which formats work best to explain an innovation?
It depends on the audience: a structured article for Google and AI engines, an infographic for LinkedIn, a short video or a podcast for the ecosystem, a one-pager for investors. The same knowledge comes in several formats.
How does science communication help get cited by ChatGPT or Perplexity?
Answer engines favor content that clearly defines a subject, answers precise questions and cites its sources. Popularized, structured content, associated with a clear entity, is picked up and cited faithfully more often.
Do you train our teams in science communication?
Yes. We train scientific and marketing teams, in workshops or as part of an ongoing engagement, so that they produce accurate, readable content themselves.
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