Communicating uncertainty
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PoshBee is a complex project requiring communication with multiple stakeholder categories with diverse knowledge, meaning we often have to transfer information from one category to the other, which involves overcoming certain barriers. Specifically, one barrier that seems to be relevant across all stakeholder groups’ communication is sharing uncertainty. Uncertainty is an inherent part of knowledge, yet, with increasing doubt about scientific authority, we are reluctant to openly share it. However, not adequately communicating uncertainty can lead to a loss of trust from your audience. To help practitioners communicate their uncertainty to stakeholders, we present a list of PoshBee-tested tips:
● Establish the object of uncertainty: does it concern the underlying hypothesis or the claimed facts? Defining the scope of uncertainty will help you address it.
● Be transparent and specific: elusive expressions like “could be higher or lower” decrease the audience’s trust. Being explicit about what you do not know avoids casting a shadow of mistrust over the entire message, making your audience think none of the information can be trusted. It is also important to explain jargon, avoiding wrong interpretations.
● Avoid repeating qualifiers: studies found that reading the same qualifier several times increases its strength in the audience’s perception (Mislavsky & Gaertig, 2020), causing unwarranted certainty.
● Know how much science is enough: uncertainty can arise if your audience is flooded with the technicalities of scientific details. On the other hand, they may be inadequately informed if not presented with important uncertainties in the field, which create nuances on a certain topic.
Source: dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3454796
See summary in English.
PoshBee: Pan-european assessment, monitoring, and mitigation Of Stressors on the Health of BEEs
Ongoing | 2018-2023
- Main funding source
- Horizon 2020 (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- United Kingdom