Talking about clinical research offers a special challenge. People who participate in clinical trials are volunteers and our partners in research. We can help ourselves by using terminology that honors the partnership in hope and discovery that takes place through the combined effort of the volunteer and researcher-not P.I., by the way. Unfortunately, this can mean persuading the public of the rightness of our point of view. True education, when it's effective, enables people to ask good questions.
Advocacy is historically important and fully legitimate in a democracy.
It is essential that we neither mislabel nor shy away from advocacy for science in the public's interest. We've all noticed the pomposity of people who speak only English but expect non-English speakers to understand them. In the case of communication about scientific interests, it is more effective to explain ourselves to fellow citizens by employing user-friendly dialogue, rather than insisting on our own inaccessible terminology. We can readily assure citizens that we serve their interest if we demonstrate that we are available to answer their questions in a way that they can understand. We don't, after all, have to learn a new language to advance our cause with the public, and we don't have to shout.