Research institutions have invested heavily in the infrastructure that moves discoveries toward impact: technology transfer, sponsored research, industry partnerships, entrepreneurship programs, funding, and facilities.

But much of research translation still depends on a very human moment:

A researcher sitting across from someone outside the research community and talking about their work.

And we largely leave those moments to chance.

Researchers spend years learning how to succeed in the research environment.

They learn to prioritize the technology, emphasize precision, defend their conclusions, and demonstrate expertise.

Then we put them in meetings with industry, where the audience is trying to understand something different:

Why does this matter to us? What problem could it solve? How does it compare with what we do today? What would it take to move forward?

When those conversations don’t go well, institutions often compensate by working around researchers by trying to distill their work into templates and having other staff convey relevance. Or they send researchers through programs designed to turn them into entrepreneurs and salespeople.

I don’t think either is the answer.

Researchers don’t need to stop being technical experts. They need to learn what a different room requires and how to adapt while bringing the expertise only they can bring.

And this shouldn’t be left to individual experience or natural talent.

It’s too important.

Technology transfer, industry partnerships, research leadership, faculty development, and researchers themselves all benefit when researchers can engage effectively in high-stakes external conversations.

This is a high-leverage capability that cuts across the entire research enterprise.

I believe building it intentionally is the next opportunity in research translation.