The following individuals write and communicate statistics every day, so we asked them to give us their best writing tips, communication advice, and reading inspiration.

Aparna Nathan
Harvard University PhD Candidate
2021 AAAS Mass Media Fellow at the Philadelphia Inquirer

Writing about science and statistics: Is it an art or a craft? 

Might be a sneaky answer, but it’s both! I think there are concrete techniques that you can use to write about science and statistics well, including article structures, analogies, and tone that help the reader follow the story. In that sense, it feels like a craft. But at the same time, some of the best science writing innovates beyond those basics to make a piece more evocative. There might be a more creative way to describe how an animal moves, or a more compelling comparison for a stat. These make a story not only educational, but also fun—which is just as important if you want your reader to stay engaged with your message.

What’s one trait you need to be a good communicator? 

More than being a good speaker or writer, you need to be a good listener. As a journalist, I spend much more time listening to other people than actually writing, and I always have to be listening actively to make sure that I am filling in the gaps in my own understanding before I communicate the topic to someone else. I think this is also true in any kind of communication. Listening also helps you stay open-minded. Otherwise, it’s easy to communicate without ever questioning your own biases and how you’re imposing them on others.

What’s your top tip for breaking writer’s block? 

If I’m stuck, often I’ll just step away from my computer and narrate the concept I’m trying to write about out loud to myself. Saying things feels like it has lower stakes than writing them down, so this stream of consciousness helps me refine my ideas and how I present them.

Public speaking: Love it or hate it? 

I definitely used to hate it, but now I enjoy it a lot more. (Would I say I love it? Not quite.) It was important for me to recognize that all the things I worried about—saying the wrong thing or forgetting what I wanted to say—were more about me than about my audience. Once I started defining a successful talk based on how well the audience engaged with the topic, it became a lot less nerve wracking because it felt like a conversation that both sides could benefit from.

Name one or two blogs or books you would recommend to others.

One that I’ve read: Data Feminism, by Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren F. Klein. One that I’m reading currently: Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Both remind me that science and data are not divorced from the diversity—and inequity—of society.

Diana Cai
2019 AAAS Mass Media Fellow at STAT News in Boston

Writing about science and statistics: Is it an art or a craft? 

It’s definitely a craft starting out. I can only speculate that it becomes an art with craft after a certain stage. 

What’s one trait you need to be a good communicator? 

Being a good listener. There’s a reason it’s a cliché. 

What’s your top tip for breaking writer’s block?

Going for a walk, conversing with a friend, maybe both. 

Public speaking: Love it or hate it?

I don’t mind it. 

Name one or two blogs or books you would recommend to others.

Hello World, by Hannah Fry, is a great dive into the ways algorithms impact our lives. Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande, provides a fascinating look into geriatric medicine and alternatives to our current system.

Amy Nussbaum
Visiting Lecturer of Statistics, Mount Holyoke College 
2016 ASA Science Policy Fellow

Writing about science and statistics: Is it an art or a craft? 

I love this question! I’ve always heard the comparison of an art versus a science, and I definitely lean toward an art. But I really love the description of a craft as well—to me, that implies that you can hone your skills over a long period of time and really develop a variety of talents, both of which are true statements about communicating science and statistics, as well. I might have to borrow this description in the future!

What’s one trait you need to be a good communicator?

Respect your audience! Over the course of my career, I’ve spoken with a lot of nonstatisticians—from policymakers to industry colleagues to students—and that tip has helped me every time. You might find yourself talking to someone who doesn’t know what you know, but that rarely means they can’t eventually understand what you have to say.

What’s your top tip for breaking writer’s block?

I really like having a writing routine. In grad school, I would come home from teaching and change into a favorite pair of comfy socks, make a cup of tea, and light a candle before I opened my laptop to work on research. To this day, I am ready to write when I smell that particular scent! It’s a nice way of making yourself feel good about a task that you might be dreading.

Public speaking: Love it or hate it?

It’s not my first choice—there’s always some degree of nerves—but as my high-school swim coach used to say, “Nervousness is readiness leaving the body.” It’s perfectly fine to feel nervous about talking about something you’re passionate about and getting it right for your audience!

Name one or two blogs or books you would recommend to others.

I am a big fan of reading for fun! Even reading novels can help shape your writing and communication styles. I just finished Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir (who also wrote The Martian). If you’re looking for a way to take a break from work, this was a really fun science fiction read you might enjoy!

Jonathan Auerbach
The American Statistical Association
2020 ASA Science Policy Fellow

Writing about science and statistics: Is it an art or a craft? 

Writing is a craft learned by imitation and perfected by experimentation and revision. Science writing certainly has aesthetic value—as does any craft—but its primary purpose is communication. The effective writer communicates only the most pertinent information and in the least amount of space.

What’s one trait you need to be a good communicator?

Good communicators are engaging. They tell stories that are relevant to their audiences. A communication is a transaction where the audience pays with their time and, in our internet age, the competition for time is fierce. 

What’s your top tip for breaking writer’s block?

First, determine if what you’re writing is actually worth writing. If it is, sleep on it. I guarantee the offending sentence or paragraph is not the problem. Tomorrow, you’ll realize that the actual problem was three paragraphs earlier. And if all else fails, ask a critic. Don’t ask a friend. A friend will suggest cursory edits and then lie to your face and tell you it’s brilliant. 

Public speaking: Love it or hate it?

I dislike everything about public speaking. I’d much rather read a paper—where I can review the text and figures at my leisure—than attend a talk—where the speaker will cram too much information into too little space. I’m also convinced standing near a podium makes me dumber. 

Name one or two blogs or books you would recommend to others.

 I recommend [William] Zinsser’s On Writing Well and [Steven] Pinker’s The Sense of Style.

Nick Thieme
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2017 AAAS Mass Media Fellow at Slate

Writing about science and statistics: Is it an art or a craft?

 Like any endeavor that, at one point or another is intended for public consumption, data writing is both an art and a craft, depending on which leg of the journey we’re describing.

The portion of my daily work that’s artistic roughly follows an hourglass shape over the life of a project. Forming an intuition about a slice of the world and solidifying an idea from that haze feels like an art that shifts every time I do it. From there, the work becomes more and more mechanical as I collect the building blocks of an article—my own data analysis, quotes from interviews, and other people’s relevant research. Even some of the writing, the “nerd box,” the structure of a news article, is more a craft than an art until, at the end, there’s creative liberty again as I’m threading a narrative or framing the article within a larger body of academic work.

What’s one trait you need to be a good communicator?

I once heard something along the lines of, “any person who is willing to write about themselves with total and complete honesty could not fail to produce a masterpiece,” and I think that’s exactly right. Complete and total honesty contains callousness and risk, and it isn’t always healthy in daily life, but it is essential for public communication.

What’s your top tip for breaking writer’s block?

Discarding writer’s block is the ultimate relief of viewing much of writing as craft, not art. Nothing feels right? That’s fine; turn the crank anyway. A bad page is easier to turn into a good page than an empty one.

Public speaking: Love it or hate it?

I enjoy the interactive component of it. My writing is more faithful to my thinking than my speaking, so I think I’m less effective that way, but, at the same time, that’s probably outweighed by the richness of collaborating.

Name one or two blogs or books you would recommend to others.

For popular statistics visualization, I’d say “Flowing Data” (blog). For more technical statistics, Andrew Gelman’s “Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science” (blog). And then for a perfect example of fidelity in writing, Rita Indiana, The Tentacle (fiction book).