Storytelling can help to demystify energy

With rising awareness of the role of the energy transition in tackling climate change, the sector has a unique opportunity for a conversation with the public. However, as BEIS innovation expert Yasmin Ali argues, this means a greater focus on communication skills and avoiding the temptation to descend into jargon.

Aged 17, I was blissfully unaware of the energy sector. I spent zero time thinking about why the lights came on, why the house was warm in the winter, or how the fuel I pumped into my little Nissan Micra got to the petrol station. Distant childhood memories of growing up in Baghdad, Iraq and experiencing power cuts lurked like faint shadows in the back of my mind, but never quite managed to make it to the forefront.

Nowadays, I am occupied by completely different thoughts. How did the energy system get to where it is today? What happened in the past to influence this, and how do we go about building a more sustainable future?

This transformation of thought started during a work placement at a gas fired power station, nestled among lush green fields in Lincolnshire. I was a third-year chemical engineering student. I turned up to the power station with no knowledge and no expectations of where driving through those gates would lead me.

Over the three months, I started to connect the dots between the offshore oil and gas sector, gas pipelines sprawling across the country, power stations dotted around, and reels and reels of electricity cables strung across pylons moving electricity from where it is produced to where it is used. I was in awe of everyone who worked together to make this happen. Most importantly, I started to understand the potential real-world applications of my degree, and the benefit I could bring to society by using my engineering skills to make sure homes, schools, hospitals and other essential services had a secure energy supply.

After graduating, I immediately joined the energy sector, working in a coal-fired power station, more gas-fired sites, oil and gas exploration and production, district heating systems, and today in energy innovation funding.

Lost in jargon

Throughout this time, I was keen to share my new discoveries with others. I wanted them to connect the dots too, and feel the same awe I felt for the engineers and other professionals in the energy sector. I gave talks at schools, as well as careers and public events. But I realised that the glassy-eyed members of the public and teenagers staring back at me were getting lost in the jargon. They were in the same place as me at the age of 17, so I had to rethink how and what I said to them. Simply telling them about my job was not doing the trick.

Through various media and public speaking courses, watching how other engaging speakers do it, working with creative science communicators, and trying different things out to see what works, I started to understand that people connect with people. If you want to engage someone, tell them a personal story that they can relate to.

My approach now, which I am constantly trying to improve, is to understand my audience and tailor what I say specifically for them. For example, for the 17-year-olds, I tell them honestly how lost I felt at the prospect of having to choose a career for the rest of my life, and my reflections on this. I have also started to draw on my childhood memories of power cuts in Iraq, to highlight how a poor energy supply can impact people’s lives.

As well as presenting, I communicate outwards through writing to spread the message about engineering and energy. I want to show that engineers are normal people, and shatter the stereotypes surrounding the profession. I am taking this to the next level, by writing an accessible book about the global energy industry. In Power Up, due to be published by Hodder & Stoughton in 2024, I will take readers with a non-technical background on a journey through the backstage of the energy sector. Starting with where energy resources come from, how they are moved around the globe, to how they are used, told through my own experiences of the industry, others I will interview along the way, and energy sites I will visit in person.

I hope this will demystify energy, highlight the complexity of the system, and help readers to make more sense of climate change and understand why we are where we are today, and how we assess our options, make the right choices and move forward.

It has taken me over ten years to get here and a lot of trial and error. I will continue to work on my writing and presenting skills, with the aim of helping others to connect the dots of the energy system. With the rising concern for and interest in climate change, this is the perfect time for all energy professionals to communicate and engage everyone in the energy transition, and bring them along with us.