# Scientific Communication > Use when the user needs to design, review, adapt, or rehearse scientific communication for a live, spoken, visual, or audience-facing setting: talks, slide decks, posters as presentation artifacts, chalk talks, elevator pitches, public explanations, research stories, delivery plans, timing, or Q&A preparation. Trigger from drafts, outlines, venue/audience constraints, slide or poster plans, scripts, or rehearsal concerns. Prefer writing for manuscript prose, visualization for chart/figure design decisions, and publishing for submission or peer-review logistics. - Skill: `jjfroehlich/scientific-communication` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 12 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jjfroehlich/scientific-communication` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jjfroehlich/scientific-communication/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Design & Media - License: MIT - Author: jjfroehlich (https://skillmd.com/u/jjfroehlich) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jjfroehlich/scientific-communication --- # Scientific Communication ## Purpose Help agents turn scientific content into audience-aware live or visual communication: talks that have one argument, slides and posters that can be read in the room, pitches that fit the listener, and Q&A plans that preserve credibility. ## Use this skill when - The user asks for help with a scientific talk, seminar, conference presentation, poster, chalk talk, elevator pitch, research story, or public-facing explanation. - The artifact is a slide outline, slide deck, poster layout, spoken script, title, abstract-for-a-talk, presentation plan, or Q&A preparation note. - The user needs structure, cuts, visual hierarchy, delivery rehearsal, audience adaptation, or a short spoken version of research. - The user asks for a communication review rather than manuscript editing, figure publication review, grant strategy, or peer-review response. ## Do not use this skill when - The user primarily needs manuscript prose, paper organization, cover letters, or reviewer responses. - The task is only about choosing or coding a data visualization for a publication figure. - The request is about research strategy, experimental design, citation management, or conference logistics without a communication artifact. - The user wants generic public-speaking motivation rather than concrete scientific communication work. ## Core workflow 1. Identify the medium, audience, stakes, time/space limit, and the one message the audience should retain before building slides. 2. Diagnose the main failure mode: unclear premise, overloaded detail, weak audience bridge, unreadable visuals, poor format fit, or unprepared delivery/Q&A. 3. Route to the narrowest useful playbook. Open only the needed reference unless the artifact spans formats. 4. Make cuts before polish. Preserve what supports audience belief, orientation, or action; move secondary details to backup, handout, speaker notes, or conversation. 5. Produce a concrete artifact: revised outline, slide-by-slide plan, poster redesign, pitch script, chalk-talk board plan, Q&A prep list, or prioritized checklist. 6. State assumptions when audience, timing, venue, or visual access is missing. Ask at most the clarifying questions needed to avoid a misleading recommendation. ## Output formats - Talk outline: `audience -> premise -> hook or governing message -> 2-3 main moves -> decisive evidence -> close -> backup/Q&A`. - Slide review: `top failure -> cuts -> slide order -> per-slide job -> visual fixes -> rehearsal check`. - Poster redesign: `main claim -> layout hierarchy -> text cuts -> figure treatment -> standing-distance checks -> 30-second walkthrough`. - Elevator pitch: `listener -> opening hook -> problem -> approach -> payoff -> ask/next step`. - Chalk talk plan: `opening board map -> research program modules -> interruption plan -> feasibility/vision evidence -> closing ask`. - Delivery/Q&A prep: `likely questions -> answer moves -> bridge phrases -> rehearsal plan -> failure recovery`. ## Reference routing - `references/talk-structure.md`: Open for seminars, conference talks, thesis talks, or slide order problems. - `references/slide-design.md`: Open for slide density, visual hierarchy, figure adaptation, text-heavy slides, or deck mechanics. - `references/posters.md`: Open for conference posters, digital posters, poster walkthroughs, or poster redesign. - `references/chalk-talks.md`: Open for faculty interview chalk talks, board-based research plans, or highly interactive research vision sessions. - `references/elevator-pitches.md`: Open for short spoken summaries, networking pitches, lay explanations, or timed project introductions. - `references/storytelling.md`: Open when the user needs narrative framing, audience memory, tension, explanation, or a stronger through-line. - `references/delivery-and-qa.md`: Open for rehearsal, vocal/physical delivery, question handling, nerves, timing, or audience interaction. - `checklists/talk-review.md`: Use for a fast final review of a talk or deck. - `checklists/poster-review.md`: Use for a final poster review before print, upload, or presentation. - `examples/communication-feedback-examples.md`: Open when the user needs a model output pattern. ## Quick checklist - What is the one sentence the audience should remember? - Who is the audience, and what do they already believe or need? - What can be cut, moved to backup, or left for conversation? - Can the visual artifact be understood at the expected distance or screen size? - Does each slide, panel, board section, or pitch sentence have one job? - Is the opening orienting, the close specific, and the Q&A plan credible? ## Common pitfalls - Treating a talk like a paper, a poster like a manuscript wall, or a chalk talk like a polished seminar. - Fixing wording before deciding the message, audience bridge, and cuts. - Letting methods, caveats, or secondary data compete with the main claim. - Copying paper figures into talks or posters without redesigning labels, scale, and visual order. - Asking too many clarifying questions when a first-pass plan with explicit assumptions would help. - Starting slide production before deciding audience, message, and explanation path. ## Quality bar - Advice must be medium-specific and audience-specific. - The answer must include concrete cuts, ordering, visual hierarchy, rehearsal moves, or Q&A moves. - The agent must preserve scientific uncertainty while still making the communication sharper. - Public-facing outputs must not expose source provenance, bibliographies, raw URLs, or private-source details.