How can you make your historical research accessible to more people?

Plain language is indispensable. It's not about stripping the past but about bridging the gap between academic rigor and public understanding. Complex terms and jargon can often alienate or confuse a broader audience. Consider the historical event you're discussing. Instead of inundating readers with intricate details and specialized terminology, focus on the essence of the event. What were the causes? The consequences? How did it shape our world today? This approach doesn't dilute the historical significance but invites a broader audience to engage and reflect.

Using plain reflects our consciousness of the audience's needs and expectations. However, from a lexical point of view, I see some difficulties in avoiding jargon completely: in Ancient History, for example, some technical terms in Latin, Greek, or modern languages different from English are used because they convey a specific concept. In these cases, adding a brief explanation of the word to avoid misunderstandings is crucial. Making a text more readable also means ensuring the flow is easy to follow, using linking words to help the reader understand causes, consequences, contrasting views, and issues in the research. These must be chosen accurately, especially if our audience's first language is English.

It is important to keep clarity and purpose in mind. The wording and presentation should be clear and unambiguous, with proper pauses and punctuation, and without obscure or hidden meanings. The purpose of the presentation should also be taken into account: Is it to get people initially interested in history? Or just a certain subtopic? Or is it to further a scholarly discussion with disciplinary experts? The language and style of presentation should help support the purpose. Presentations for an elementary school field trip and an honor society annual conference will be quite different. Meet the people where they are, but don’t dumb things down or omit essential details. Make them comfortable and invite them in.

Finding a good story to introduce concepts and historical events is challenging, but worth it. Readers are attracted to something they can relate to, but how to explain a historical event that happened more than 2,000 years ago? A good practice is to ask ourselves what story we want to hear and how it is told. A crucial point is to set up a background, where the reader can be part of the story, so they feel less distant from the historical topic. In a paper I am writing, I set up my background by introducing the Persian Empire as a vast and complex empire, quoting sources about its power. Then, I slowly shift toward my research about imperial administration, but the reader will (hopefully) feel like a part of the empire.

Choosing the right visual is vital. A chart best illustrates population changes over time, while an infographic could summarize the causes of a revolution. Quality matters – a clear, high-resolution image of an artifact can spark curiosity and connection in ways that words alone cannot. Remember, each visual should serve a purpose, complementing and reinforcing your narrative. Adding a caption that explains context, sources, or interesting facts can enrich understanding. For example, a brief caption about their role and impact alongside a photograph of a historical figure can provide valuable insight.

As historians, we work with data all the time. However, making it easy to understand can be problematic, especially for young researchers. Understanding how new tools work (such as PowerBI, Tableau, and similar) to develop my data into "views" has been an invaluable tool in making my research easy to follow. Including visuals improves understanding and digesting information, which in turn can prompt questions from the audience and, therefore, new insights and ideas. Many companies offer free courses to learn the tools of the trade, from pivot tables on Excel to interactive dashboards on PowerBI. Some of them have a steep learning curve, but the challenge is worth it.

Engagement makes history resonate with people. I advocate for interactive platforms like social media and podcasts to connect with audiences. These mediums allow us to share insights, answer queries, and receive feedback, fostering a two-way learning process. For example, hosting a webinar on the Industrial Revolution opens a space for questions and personal connections, making the era more tangible. Similarly, a blog post on ancient civilizations can become a discussion hub where readers share interpretations or relate them to current issues. Engagement demystifies history, showing its relevance to our lives today.

Engaging with a broader audience is, in my opinion, the hardest part of the job. However, with the multitude of channels developing every day around us, finding what works best for us and our storytelling style is becoming easier. I like the saying "sharing is caring" because as we share our experiences, we can learn much from others when they share their own view. This shows care about other perspectives and about the advancement of knowledge, which is possible through collaboration and exchange. What fascinates me the most, though, is to see how people who are not specialists can give great input to specialists and help them gauge their own communication style to help the community grow bigger and better.

Collaborating with public and popular researchers is a great way of reaching an audience interested in history. Podcasts, Youtube channels, etc. often have millions of listeners or subscribers but aren't run by someone with a PhD. But the majority of people interested in history—or any other humanities-interested people for that matter, will be non-specialists.

Collaboration is a key factor in research, especially when it's done with experts from other fields. I was reflecting on how a smarter way to analyse my data. This brought me to ask for help and feedback from experts in IT, Data Analysis, Statistics, and Social Sciences. I found out about tools and methodologies I was not aware of as a Classicist and this helped me broaden my vision and actually make my research results easier to understand. What matters the most, though, is that I met some amazing people who are - unexpectedly - interested in my research, which gave me a new perspective on my own work.

Ein besonders innovativer Ansatz zur Zug?nglichmachung historischer Forschung für ein breites Publikum ist die Verwendung von interaktiven digitalen Medien wie virtuellen Touren, interaktiven Karten oder Online-Spielen, um historische Ereignisse erlebbar zu machen. Durch visuell ansprechende und leicht zug?ngliche Inhalte k?nnen komplexe historische Zusammenh?nge verst?ndlich und fesselnd pr?sentiert werden.

Write for a public audience. There are numerous digital publications that love to take historical stories and are always chomping at the bit for more expert contributors. I have experience with JSTOR Daily, Queerty, Observer, Travel+Leisure, but National Geographic, Vogue, Harper's, Narratively, etc. also take historical stories. You can also use social media. There's been a wellspring of creatives in the two or three years creating history content.

Consider publishing in an open journal. While I realize this may not be possible or the best option for some, making research accessible to all is ultimately the goal. I have published in both peer reviewed journals and open access, for balance and to contribute where I know it's needed and not necessarily where I will score big on my Research Gate profile.