Course content
In this course, Account Director Stefan Delatovic explores how to tell the story behind your research. As a social change organisation or advocator, you’re likely producing research on your topic of expertise to create change. Stefan will show you how you can harness the story of your research to make it accessible to broader audiences through reporting results the right way, using your data properly and engaging with marketing products to share your story as widely as possible.
Hi, welcome to Lumin.
I’m Stefan, and in this course I’ll be talking about how to make research more accessible.
Because you’re conducting research to inform an action. As a social change organisation or advocator, you’re likely producing research for your subject or topic of expertise to create change.
By research, I’m talking about any body of evidence you’ve put together to prove your case, make a point, or educate an audience.
It’s powerful stuff. Persuasive proof gives you the authority to make an argument. But it’s important to remember that these are just the facts. They aren’t the whole story.
Research comes in all shapes and sizes. You might conduct a big annual survey to measure your core issue, like the Scanlon Foundation’s Mapping Social Cohesion report. They are an organisation that exists to encourage and explain social cohesion. So for them, researching and mapping people’s evolving attitudes to that topic is a powerful way to explain their point.
Equally, you could be one person putting together a research report into some best practice examples in your field of expertise.
I once worked in emergency services and I researched how other countries handled emergency warnings to try and learn from them. My goal was to prompt action – and in that case, that was to adopt new, proven techniques in my workplace.
Many people conduct their research and then compile or publish a report of their findings, and that’s it. But that’s underselling yourself and you miss out on making a real impact. You need to tell the story of your findings to reel people in and show them what you’ve found.
Because your findings may be important, but if they don’t connect with the right people, and if people just never find them, you won’t get anywhere. That’s where storytelling comes in.
Think of something important, like the Australian Federal Government budget. Very few people read the budget document itself. But, they learn about its contents, and why it matters, by reading stories about affected people in newspapers, or online, or from a trusted source.
Because, stories are how we process the world around us. They access our emotions and our brain, and that’s really important.
Let’s get started on how in the next lesson, where we’ll be talking about how to report results in an engaging way.
I’m Stefan, and in this course I’ll be talking about how to make research more accessible.
Because you’re conducting research to inform an action. As a social change organisation or advocator, you’re likely producing research for your subject or topic of expertise to create change.
By research, I’m talking about any body of evidence you’ve put together to prove your case, make a point, or educate an audience.
It’s powerful stuff. Persuasive proof gives you the authority to make an argument. But it’s important to remember that these are just the facts. They aren’t the whole story.
Research comes in all shapes and sizes. You might conduct a big annual survey to measure your core issue, like the Scanlon Foundation’s Mapping Social Cohesion report. They are an organisation that exists to encourage and explain social cohesion. So for them, researching and mapping people’s evolving attitudes to that topic is a powerful way to explain their point.
Equally, you could be one person putting together a research report into some best practice examples in your field of expertise.
I once worked in emergency services and I researched how other countries handled emergency warnings to try and learn from them. My goal was to prompt action – and in that case, that was to adopt new, proven techniques in my workplace.
Many people conduct their research and then compile or publish a report of their findings, and that’s it. But that’s underselling yourself and you miss out on making a real impact. You need to tell the story of your findings to reel people in and show them what you’ve found.
Because your findings may be important, but if they don’t connect with the right people, and if people just never find them, you won’t get anywhere. That’s where storytelling comes in.
Think of something important, like the Australian Federal Government budget. Very few people read the budget document itself. But, they learn about its contents, and why it matters, by reading stories about affected people in newspapers, or online, or from a trusted source.
Because, stories are how we process the world around us. They access our emotions and our brain, and that’s really important.
Let’s get started on how in the next lesson, where we’ll be talking about how to report results in an engaging way.
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About the instructor
Stefan Delatovic
Stefan is an accomplished communicator specialising in media, crisis messaging and strategy. With 18 years’ experience, his passion is for using stories and ideas to shape communities and empower them. His origins as a journalist in a regional community give him a deep understanding of how people digest information, interact with complicated ideas, and the role communication plays in their lives. Working from strategic planning right through to time-critical reactive messaging, he has successfully coordinated emergency management communication functions that provide cohesive advice and action.