Build Communication Skills For A Successful Career, Says Top Science Influencer

Nuclear physicist Annie Kritcher recalls pursuing a career in math and science because it “gave me a voice.” Today, Kritcher uses her voice—and specialized skill—to lead revolutionary experiments in nuclear fusion, a potential milestone on the path to a clean-energy future.

Kritcher’s crucial role in a recent headline-grabbing experiment at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California, landed her on TIME Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2023. I caught up with Kritcher shortly after she attended an event to honor the scientists, innovators, business leaders, and A-list celebrities who also made the list.

Kritcher’s success in pursuing a scientific “Grand Challenge” offers valuable lessons in the skills required to lead and motivate teams. According to Kritcher, communication is the number one soft skill leaders need to align teams around a bold mission.

One specific communication skill that sets Kritcher apart is her ability to simplify extraordinarily complex ideas. Kritcher can translate the language of physics for a wide range of audiences.

I asked Kritcher, “Can you explain—in plain English — the milestone you achieved?

Kritcher’s answer:

“We’re trying to bring the same process that powers the sun to the Earth so that we can harness energy in a controlled, laboratory setting. It’s really important because it’s the holy grail of the clean energy future because there are no carbon emissions, and it’s unlimited. But it’s really difficult to do because we have to create these little suns in the laboratory. My job is to figure out how we can do that.”

According to Grammarly’s readability analysis, Kritcher’s answer is so simple it can be easily understood by the average eighth-grader. Her explanation is free of jargon and she relies on familiar comparisons and phrases like “Holy Grail” and “little suns.”

Here’s where the real lesson begins. I then asked Kritcher to explain the experiment’s results to a peer with a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering. Without missing a beat, Kritcher effortlessly launched into a highly technical discussion.

“We were able to achieve ignition, a rapid increase in Deuterium-Tritium (DT) temperature associated with alpha-particle self-heating, by increasing the “hot-spot” plasma energy density,” Kritcher began.

I won’t include the rest of Kritcher’s explanation because, according to Grammarly’s software, it contains words that only a select few people would understand.

And that’s the point—Kritcher has perfected an exceptional ability to seamlessly translate her work for different audiences and stakeholders.

“Communication is such an important skill,” Kritcher says. “Communication is key because we are going to need the entire public to back us up. We need the public’s buy-in. So we need to communicate in a simple way that sparks their interest and doesn’t put them to sleep.”

Effective communicators spark interest, stir excitement, and inspire others to join them on their quest. But whether the quest is to find the holy grail in physics or to pursue a bold vision, the adventure is destined to fail without the dedicated work of motivated teams.

The world needs dreamers and innovators like Annie Kritcher. And, like Kritcher, we need dreamers who can clearly explain what they do and why they do it.