Online Program

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All Times EDT

Thursday, September 24
Thu, Sep 24, 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Virtual
The Art of Storytelling: How to Communicate Clinical Data More Effectively

Once Upon a Time … We Didn’t Used to Know How to Tell Statistical Stories (302284)

*Janet Wittes, Statistics Collaborative 

To non-statisticians we sound like the protectors of a secret language: “[My] first original paper [was on] analytic and algebraic topology of locally Euclidean parameterization of Infinitely differentiable Riemannian manifold.” (pace Tom Lehrer). Just as bad is when we talk down to non-statisticians – oversimplifying what we are doing so they will “understand”. That approach hides our assumptions. Somehow we need to be able to talk to non-statisticians in a way that captures what we do in a way that is not too complicated but not too simple. As always, we should follow Goldilocks: our language must select a level of tone and complexity that is “just right”. Our goal should be to explain our methods clearly and accurately enough so our collaborators can enter into a meaningful dialogue with us. We are most effective when we and those with whom we work tell a mutually meaningful story.