The Resonates content team shares some tips and techniques on how to write about climate related topics for a non-technical audience.
While you don’t need to become an expert in climate science to write about it, you do have to be informed. Read widely and stay up to date. Choose multiple authoritative, reputable sources, especially if you are citing them.
Be curious and question everything. Acknowledge that scientific uncertainties exist and call them out. Remember that the climate debate attracts criticism, contrarians, and full-throttle craziness.
You may need to reflect multiple viewpoints, sometimes even those you disagree with – especially if you are ghost-writing thought leadership content.
This leads naturally to …
When you focus on the research findings of the climate challenges, the underlying message can be bleak. It helps to balance scientific facts with actionable insights. By all means use research findings to illustrate the problems of a warming planet but offer a sense of hope by discussing potential solutions and actions that individuals can take. Above all, avoid overwhelming readers with doom-and-gloom scenarios.
You’ll find it helps if you …
As I’ve mentioned, the issue of climate can be quite emotive. Focusing on scientific language and findings can exclude elements of your readership. The key objective is to make sure your writing is inclusive – not in terms of including all the craziness, but that it is accessible to all.
When the topic you’re writing about is complex, your primary goal is translation – converting technical terms (some might call it jargon) into language that everybody can understand.
Some translation gems:
Always think of your reader. If you’re writing for a specialist publication, they will have higher baseline knowledge so you can include more technical language but take care to avoid a condescending or preachy tone. Keep it factual but original.
Climate related articles tend to come with lots of data. Big numbers. Huge. Sciency things that are difficult for a non-technical audience to understand.
It’s much easier to understand stories. You can humanise data by connecting scientific findings to real-life experiences. People can relate to personal stories of communities impacted by climate crises like wildfires and flooding. These specific examples can illustrate broader trends by making them relatable.
And while we’re on that topic …
Abstract concepts like ‘climate sensitivity’, ‘tipping points’, ‘radiative forcing’ etc. can throw up barriers between what you want to say and your readers’ understanding of the world. There’s a danger that they’ll simply ignore the messages in your writing if they can’t relate to it in some way. Transform abstract concepts into concrete, familiar comparisons.
Some examples:
Taking that a step further …
When words get in the way of communicating complex information, visual aids and graphics go a long way towards simplifying the message. This is especially true of infographics that break down a scientific process. Charts that show temperature or sea-level changes can be far more impactful than trying to explain the difference between 10 and 30oC or mAOD (meters Above Ordnance Datum) – I wasn’t wrong about the jargon.
For example, this video from six years ago shows the impact of a nine-foot (2.75m) storm surge in a far more impactful way than words on a page – from 55 seconds in.
If you’re limited to words, use them well …
There are so many tips and techniques to good writing that it’s impossible – and possibly rather patronising – to include them in a blog. Use common sense and follow your preferred guidelines.
Read your draft aloud to check conversational flow. Make sure you include enough short sentences to give your writing rhythm. Reading aloud helps you work out where to put commas. If you can’t get to the end of a sentence without drawing breath, rewrite it or break it up with punctuation.
Ask a non-scientific reader to give you feedback. The quote attributed to Albert Einstein (but disputed). ‘if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it enough’ is useful. Imagine explaining the topic to an eight or an eighty-year-old, not because that is who you are writing for necessarily, but it can help you get your head around the subject.
Try to avoid over burdening readers with technical detail. If you are writing in a marketing context, leave some detail for the reader to find out when they contact your company or client for more information.
When you need to tell a difficult story, either because the subject is complicated, very technical or the news isn’t terribly promising, don’t neglect the emotional and narrative elements to connect you to your reader. Your goal is to inform, engage, and inspire—not to intimidate or confuse.
Stay informed, challenge others’ opinions, do the research, find out things for yourself. Not just when you’re commissioned to write a climate article, but whenever you find something about the climate that grabs your attention.
You’ll write far more original and engaging content when it comes from you as an individual. Not AI, not dozens of paragraphs from other articles cobbled together. Be your authentic self and let your enthusiasm for the subject come to the fore. Not only will your readers be grateful for a passionate voice, you’ll find the words will flow.
