So what? Who cares? The skill of talking about impact

“Who is this guy? So he makes a study. I couldn’t care less.” Although retired Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach was commenting specifically on Thomas Gilovich, Robert Vallone and Amos Tversky’s now famous study on “cognitive illusion”, his opinion could arguably (and that’s what we’re here for) be applied to any of us and our research.

So we do some research. Or some teaching. So what? As a careers consultant for researcher staff, I spend a lot of time with researchers exploring their research impact, for a lot of reasons: career progression, applying for academic roles, applying for fellowships, making grant applications, changing careers and more. I also notice that people are terrible at talking about the impact of their research, their teaching, their public engagement or their knowledge exchange.

They list tasks. Or responsibilities. Or technical skills. They use these lists to talk around their impact as if it’s a skeleton in a closet rather than something to be proud of.

Why it’s important to talk about our impact

The introduction of narrative CVs is making it more important than ever for researchers to be able to bring their impact into the light of day. Wider reasons that it’s important for us to succinctly and confidently state the impact of our academic activities include:

• It boosts our well-being and confidence to spend time reflecting on how our activities are making a difference
• It improves our feelings of personal agency and self-efficacy, enabling us to identify ways we can improve
• It provides us with direction and motivation – or motivation to change direction.

Start with the ‘So what?’ test

In careers work, we often encourage clients to adopt an employer’s perspective by applying the “So what?” test to CVs, cover letters and personal statements. “So, you did this thing. So what?”

“I lectured 280 students on archaeology and heritage crime.” So what? Who cares? Scrutinise your activities – what, when, where and how are you making a difference?

Questions you should be asking yourself include: where’s your impact? Is it in the topic? The number of students you lectured? Is it in your pedagogy and teaching style? Can you find evidence in the feedback? Is it in the assessment outcomes? Or was it in the engagement during your lecture?

A wise person once said to me regarding my own impact: “The things that are most important to you are not necessarily the most important things to an employer.” The same would be true for a funding body or a government policymaker or a member of the public wondering what value for money they’re getting. While an industry employer might not be particularly interested in your research, they will be interested in how you use your experience to give evidence of your competencies in, for example, budget management, project management or creative problem-solving.

• Resource collection: How to promote your research for greater impact
• Amplifying research: five features of successful impact generation
• What’s the story? Creative ways to communicate your research

Think about your audience

Always consider who you are speaking to. What are their interests, their needs and the issues that are keeping them awake at night? What can you choose to say that will be of most interest to them? For example, has your modelling work in engineering had an impact on design? Has it reduced construction costs? Exactly how has your research contributed to advances in drug discovery? Have you explained clearly and succinctly how your research into inequality influenced local government policy?

When applying for academic jobs, PhD graduates and early career researchers often make the mistake of framing their impact solely in terms of the research they have done in the past. Yes, your track record is important as proof of your potential, but in recruitment and selection processes, you will be evaluated on having realistic plans: what impact will your future research have? Where will the funding come from? Who will be your collaborators?

When explaining your impact, remember that not everyone on an academic interview panel will be an expert in your topic or even a researcher in your discipline. Are you sure that your impact is understandable and interesting to a non-expert academic audience?

Find your fellowship

Speaking of narratives, the wisest hero/ines in any story rarely try to go it alone. They assemble a diverse team of companions to support their quest. While there are tools to help you identify and understand what meaningful impact is in your discipline on your own, these are only a useful starting point. Enlist the help of others to reflect on your activities. Find people you trust within and outside your discipline (and outside academia, even) to ask you the questions “So what?” and “Who cares?”

People unfamiliar with your work can see the forest and the trees; they can ask canny questions to make you reflect and, most importantly, aren’t hobbled by modesty – or disciplinary jargon. If owning your impact feels like bragging (although it isn’t), delegate to friends and colleagues until you get comfortable with doing it yourself.

Our impact belongs to us – and freedom to craft a narrative that will be appealing to our audiences belongs to us, too. Let me be honest with you here: you have the power to make people care about what you do, if you choose to use it.

Darcey Gillie is a careers consultant for research staff at the Institute for Academic Development at the University of Edinburgh. She also runs her own consultancy, The Career Doctor Online, specialising in career guidance, and leadership and management coaching.

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