Cause an Effect series

Books on Science Communication

We’ve summarized everything we know about science communication in our CAUSE AN EFFECT ebook series. Based on a combined 25 years of practical experience helping scientists, these books on science communication will provide you with the knowledge and tools to plan your communication, write better, engage the media with confidence, tell an engaging story, and design better presentation slides.

Shop for scientists

Buy a single book, or get a discount when buying all our ebooks to become a better science communicator.

Single ebook

€20

  • Choose from any of our ebooks

4 ebooks

€50

Package deal!

  • Basics of Science Communication

  • Science and the Media

  • Storytelling for Scientists

  • Presentation design

Presentation Design & Template

€45

  • Ebook Presentation design

  • PowerPoint template for researchers, with 28 pre-designed slides, 22 slide master layouts, 100+ icons, and fully customizable design & color scheme.

  • Video tutorial on how to use the slide master

  • Slide design inspiration guide

Ebook – Basics of science communication

€20

Cause an Effect series

Basics of Science Communication

Strategic science communication starts with understanding your audience and tailoring your message to them.

  • Develop a clear goal for your communication to create the impact you want

  • Be mindful of your audience and how they (will) perceive your message

  • Use metaphors, argumentation styles and language that appeal to your audience

It’s tempting to just start somewhere, but paying attention to the basic questions is good practice if you want to make your science communication efforts worthwhile. They’re called the basics because they’re essential!

43 pages | PDF

Cause an Effect series

Science and the Media

(Social) media are a great amplifier for your message – if you approach them wisely.

  • Find out which media there are, and what their relationship with science is

  • Appeal to the media in active and passive ways to draw their attention

  • Prepare for interviews so that you can use them to spread your message effectively

Both media and social media have their intricacies and both can seem scary in the beginning. This book will get you on your way to a good understanding with either, but it’s up to you to try it out.

62 pages | PDF

Ebook – Science and the media

€20

Ebook – Storytelling for Scientists

€20

Cause an Effect series

Storytelling for Scientists

Narrative techniques and stories can really complement your datasets and scientific publications, if you know how to use them.

  • What makes up a story? Learn all about characters, plots and themes.

  • Use the story circle to quickly turn your science into a narrative

  • Make your audience stick by utilizing their imagination, their senses, and the ladder of abstraction.

Stories captivate us from an early age. Use their power to draw people in as a way to communicate your science! And this also goes for your peers at a conference..

52 pages | PDF

Cause an Effect series

Presentation Design Package

This package contains a practical guide to design science presentations that engage and inspire, as well as templates to help you on your way. Improve your slides and stand out from the crowd with the best presentation design at any conference.

  • Develop a clear goal and message that sticks until long after you wrap up.

  • Design better slides that communicate effectively.

  • Get new presentation ideas for graphs, tables and data slides without chart junk.

  • With real-life examples of good and bad slides.

This practical book – by scientists, for scientists – helps you get rid of slides full of text and data and present with clarity instead.

Use the fully customizable PowerPoint template and instructions to create your next presentation in minutes!

123 pages | PDF | Ebook + PowerPoint template

Ebook & design package – Presentation design

€45

I have worked closely with Liesbeth and Stephan. They listened very carefully to our wishes, translated them into designs and texts that were understandable and visibly highly attractive. Their greatest asset is their ability to communicate clearly and constantly address the various professional voices involved by translating between the different audiences.

Esther Captain, former head of Centre for Applied Research on Education, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

We collaborated with the Online Scientist for a series of presentations for an online event about a scientific innovation project. The team at the Online Scientist was very hands on and helpful with both the design and content of the presentations. We now have clear and to-the-point slides on a very scientific topic, making the presentations more impactful.”

Sophia Rehn, EUFIC

The authors

Since we founded The Online Scientist in 2012, we’ve helped hundreds of researchers with their science communication. We combine scholarly insights into science communication with hands-on practical experience.

It has been a very instructive and enjoyable job to get my farewell speech together. I thank Liesbeth and Stephan for the support, inspiration and help they offered. I received a lot of praise for the presentation, both about the content and the visualization. The overall picture was impressive according to many. Thank you for the pleasant and inspiring collaboration.”

Prof. dr. René Bindels, Radboudumc

Headshot Liesbeth Smit Wetenschapscommunicatie The Online Scientist

Liesbeth Smit

Co-founder

I’m on a mission to make science sexy. By combining graphic design and technology, I want to explore innovative ways for researchers to communicate their work.

Since stepping away from my PhD in Nutrition Science in 2012, I’ve created dozens of websites, infographics, and explainer videos. In my workshops, I teach scientists to create clear and effective presentations, posters, and graphical abstracts. I will help you craft memorable forms of science communication that grab attention and create impact.

Stephan van Duin Wetenschapscommunicatie The Online Scientist

Stephan van Duin

Co-founder

I started in science communication right after graduating as a biologist, and fifteen years later I’ve pretty much seen it all. I started as a science journalist, wrote popular scientific books and appeared in the media, worked on science festivals and developed high-profile science center exhibitions before turning my attention to scientists. Since 2016, I’ve been working exclusively with scientists to help them tell their story. I do this through workshops and consultancy for individual scientists, research groups or consortia.

I also keep in close contact with the academic side of science communication, having co-authored in the field, and I’m former co-chairman of the Dutch science communication association SciCom NL (currently – and proudly – honorary member).