Writing one or two paragraphs on the plenary and breakout sessions, describing what they are, why they are important, what the impacts are likely to be, who is involved, and who will be impacted has proven helpful. Individuals versed in public affairs and media outreach should also be members of each workshop's planning board. Getting the press and media involved and interested has to begin very early on, well before the actual workshop. Federal agency press and public relations offices should also be called upon for assistance in the outreach process. Suggestion Design a logo specifically for the workshop rather than using a grouping of the logos of all of the sponsors.
Expertise is needed for effectively communicating science to a non-science audience.
Selecting Speakers Excellent communication skills appear to be essential criteria for selecting speakers, chairs of break-out groups, and rapporteurs. Communicating at the appropriate level is crucial to engaging people and in keeping workshops running smoothly, staying focused, and achieving a useful product. A baseline educational component is needed in each workshop that will serve to identify what is known, what is not known, and what is meant by uncertainties with respect to climate change and climate impacts. Providing a regional flavor to these results has proven quite useful. Background reading materials such as the IPCC WG I and II Summaries for Policymakers, Tom Karl's observational records of temperature and precipitation for regions of the U. S., and a smattering of key figures such as the ice core records of CO 2 and temperature projected into the future can be quite useful.