I-O psychology can be a hard field to explain to friends and family, and to the general public, including the media, government, and policymakers. However, I-O psychology students, educators, researchers, and practitioners have a lot to offer these audiences. It’s our responsibility as scientist–practitioners to effectively and efficiently translate our science to broaden our field’s impact with general audiences. Here are some tips from a recent 2025 SIOP Annual Conference session to help you learn how to and get practice in marketing I-O psychology.
1. Keep your introduction to I-O psychology (your elevator pitch) brief. 60–90 seconds is all the time you have to briefly explain what you do and pique your audience’s interest to learn more.
2. Be clear: Use simple language and avoid jargon. Your takeaway from the elevator pitch should be a simple sentence about what you do, what you study, and/or what you teach. Save the details for later conversations and more in-depth opportunities to discuss a complicated topic.
3. Put the dependent variable (DV) first. Most of us are used to explaining our research by listing out a number of predictor variables (e.g., how does personality, leadership, and culture predict performance?). When communicating with public audiences, put the DV first: Start by saying that you research how to improve performance. That’s what people care about; you can discuss the various predictors you’re interested in later.
4. It’s never too early to start practicing. You can write blog posts, talk with family and friends, and record short videos for social media. As you get more practice with marketing I-O psychology, you’ll find a wealth of resources and opportunities to get more experience. For some initial resources and opportunities, check out ComSciCon, PsychGeist Media, Beyond the Ivory Tower, and the SIOP Advocacy Academy.
5. Science communication is important work, especially for I-O psychologists. Lewis et al. (2023) helpfully articulates the unique challenges and valuable contributions for social scientists like us, largely because of the amount of pseudoscience that the public encounters in day-to-day work and management. It’s our responsibility to make sure that evidence-based practices are effectively communicated to and adopted by the public.
EDITOR’S NOTE: SIOP Member Steven Zhou was invited to submit this article to share valuable tips for communicating I-O psychology that members may have missed at the 2025 SIOP Annual Conference. He was joined by SIOP Fellows Fred Oswald, Steven Rogelberg, Katina Sawyer, and Paul Yost; SIOP Members Ben Baran, Keaton Fletcher, Patricia Grabarek, Sy Islam, Lisa Kath, and Chris Wiese; and Student members Liana Kreamer, Amanda Pietrofeso, and Renee McCauley in this presentation.
If you are interested in helping to tell the I-O psychology story, please view our current opportunities for subject matter experts. If you have an idea for a timely topic not listed here, please email SIOP Senior Brand and Content Strategist Amber Stark at astark@siop.org.
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