Forget political science. We need communication science.

We are drowning in content. Communication has never been so overwhelming, complicated, personalised, and dangerous.

Communication has also never been so influential. In the information age we live in, soft power—the power of attraction and persuasion—trumps hard power, the power of brute force. The digital pen is far mightier than the physical sword.

Soft power has always been important for democracy. But we aren’t exercising it in a scientific way that is appropriate for the digital age.

We often view communication as an art. We neglect to view it also as a science—communication has far more in common with physics, chemistry, and biology than you might think. Communication science involves hypothesis testing, experimentation, and data analysis (at scale). Communication science is systematic, rigorous, and based on empirical evidence. It is no coincidence that Aristotle was a father of the scientific method.

This keynote will introduce you to the core principles of a communication science framework. The principles are tangible, actionable, and derived from five years of research in new media rhetoric. The framework will be introduced through examples drawn from a range of conversational tools, from TikTok to Zoom to Slack. Time permitting, there might even be a brief foray into the landscape of chatbots and conversational UX (but don’t get your hopes up).

On a higher level, this keynote will transform not only how you create content, but also how you consume content in the digital age. Welcome to the Communication Revolution.