Dr Lucas Ruiz shares how he works to rebalance others’ perceptions of him to help people connect more easily with his work – engaging first and foremost as another fellow person.

Dr Lucas Ruiz emphasizes the importance of presenting oneself as a 'regular person' to reduce the distance between experts and the public. He advocates for tailoring messages to the specific needs of the audience, such as linking glacier shrinkage to water resources for agricultural communities, and using analogies—comparing glaciers to bank accounts—to explain complex processes without relying on scientific jargon. Additionally, he highlights the effectiveness of visual aids like pictures, plots, and short videos to maintain engagement.

• To improve audience interaction and reduce the perceived distance between the expert and the public, Dr Lucas Ruiz suggests introducing oneself as a regular person, sharing personal motivations for doing science, and using humor.
• Effective climate communication requires tailoring the main message to the specific audience by identifying who they are and explaining why the information is important to their specific livelihoods, such as connecting glacier shrinkage to water resources in agriculture-based areas.
• Dr Lucas Ruiz recommends avoiding scientific jargon in favor of relatable analogies, such as comparing glaciers to bank accounts where snow is 'cash' and ice is 'savings', while supplementing these explanations with visual tools like pictures, plots, and short videos.

APA

Ruiz, L. (2020). Dr Lucas Ruiz shares how he works to rebalance others’ perceptions of him to help people connect more easily with his work – engaging first and foremost as another fellow person. Climate Outreach. https://climateoutreach.org/case-studies-from-ipcc-authors/argentina/

Chicago

Ruiz, Lucas. Dr Lucas Ruiz shares how he works to rebalance others’ perceptions of him to help people connect more easily with his work – engaging first and foremost as another fellow person. Climate Outreach, 2020. https://climateoutreach.org/case-studies-from-ipcc-authors/argentina/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ruiz |first1=Lucas |title=Dr Lucas Ruiz shares how he works to rebalance others’ perceptions of him to help people connect more easily with his work – engaging first and foremost as another fellow person. |publisher=Climate Outreach |date=22 June 2020 |url=https://climateoutreach.org/case-studies-from-ipcc-authors/argentina/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ruiz2020lucas, author = {Ruiz, Lucas}, title = {{Dr Lucas Ruiz shares how he works to rebalance others’ perceptions of him to help people connect more easily with his work – engaging first and foremost as another fellow person.}}, institution = {Climate Outreach}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://climateoutreach.org/case-studies-from-ipcc-authors/argentina/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }