Speaking Science - Communication as a Response to Post-Factualism
The course "Learning to Speak Science: Communication Against Post-Factualism" combines the foundations of scientific evidence with practice-oriented communication training. It focuses on how scientific claims can be communicated in public contexts often shaped by conspiracy narratives, false expertise, the discrediting of legitimate experts, logical fallacies, and unrealistic expectations of scientific certainty.
Students learn not only to present scientific findings accurately, but also to contextualize them in a clear, fair, and credible way. Key topics include evidence hierarchies, explaining complex issues without jargon, assessing expertise, correcting false claims respectfully, identifying flawed arguments, and communicating uncertainty transparently.
The course is highly practice-based and uses short speech formats, feedback sessions, and methods inspired by Toastmasters. Through practical exercises, participants train how to present controversial topics in a structured way, engage fairly with opposing views, and communicate scientific integrity in a rhetorically effective manner. The aim is to enable students to speak about science more clearly, precisely, and trustworthily in public, professional, and academic settings.
Prof. Dr. Hubert Trübel
Prof. Dr. med. Hubert Trübel ist Arzt, Wissenschaftler und Unternehmer mit langjähriger Erfahrung an der Schnittstelle von klinischer Medizin, pharmazeutischer Forschung und Innovation. Nach seiner Ausbildung in Pädiatrie, Intensivmedizin und Kardiologie sowie Forschungsstationen u. a. an der Yale University war er viele Jahre in leitenden Funktionen bei Bayer Pharma tätig, zuletzt als SVP Translationale Medicine.
Heute arbeitet er als Geschäftsführer und Gründer im Bereich Biotech- und MedTech-Beratung und beschäftigt sich insbesondere mit evidenzbasierter Prävention, Longevity und der Übersetzung wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse in praktische Anwendungen. Seine Arbeit verbindet medizinische Expertise mit strategischem Denken und einem starken Fokus auf reale Wirkung im Gesundheitssystem.
Objectives & Competences
The course, 'Learning to Speak Science: Communication Against Post-Factualism', combines the foundations of scientific evidence with practical communication training. It focuses on communicating scientific claims in public contexts that are often shaped by conspiracy narratives, false expertise, the discrediting of legitimate experts, logical fallacies and unrealistic expectations of scientific certainty.
Students will learn to present scientific findings accurately and to contextualise them clearly, fairly and credibly. Key topics include evidence hierarchies, explaining complex issues without using jargon, assessing expertise, respectfully correcting false claims, identifying flawed arguments and transparently communicating uncertainty.
The highly practical course uses short speech formats, feedback sessions and Toastmasters-inspired methods. Through these exercises, participants learn to present controversial topics in a structured way, engage fairly with opposing views, and communicate scientific integrity rhetorically. The course aims to enable students to speak about science more clearly, precisely and trustworthily in public, professional and academic settings.