Lessons of the Land
  • Speaking
  • Nuffield Scholarship
  • Contact
  • In the Media

BLOG

3 ways to be a better communicator

3/4/2015

0 Comments

 

As we end the fourth full day of the Nuffield Contemporary Conference I can't help but think about communication and how we get our message across.

We had four unique presentations about conservation agriculture, biotechnology, genomics and research. All speakers were incredibly knowledgeable about their topics. Yet some got their message across better than others.

The topic of "telling our story" has come up many times. So here are a few thoughts on how to effectively communicate with others.

1. Listen first

Some people are better than others at actually hearing what is being said. The first rule of having a conversation is making sure you pay attention to your audience/counterpart. If someone asks you a question make sure you actually address it before you start off on another track. It can be incredibly frustrating to have a dialogue when you don't feel heard.

2. Share your values

When communicating with others make sure they know where you stand on a values standpoint. The Centre for Food Integrity has a consumer trust model which suggests first telling your consumer what values you share with them (e.g. Food safety) before providing them with scientific facts (see more at www.food integrity.org). Jean Lonie shared the key quote at the end of the day that "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." This can be applied in a variety of settings - not just the ag industry talking to consumers.

3. Keep an open mind

I heard so many people at the CSC today (and the past 3 days) say "that's a good point" or "I hadn't thought of that". The ability to learn is an amazing capacity that we have as humans. We need to make sure that we don't close ourself to new knowledge or new opinions. If we do that then the conversation shuts down completely. A little healthy debate never hurt anyone, and having your stance challenged is often an incredibly useful activity.

Are there other key pieces you can think of? How do you have effective conversations and get your story across?

Picture
The four speakers of the panel at Nuffield CSC March 4, 2015. Left to right: Frederic Thomas, Laurent Journaux, Marie-Cecile Henard, Adrien Guichaoua,
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    About me...

    I was raised as the seventh generation on a mixed livestock farm near Guelph, Ontario. Currently I am living in the beautiful Okanagan region of BC, where my husband works for Blue Mountain Winery. I maintain my close ties to Ontario agriculture through my job with AgScape (Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc.) and hope to bring a national, and global perspective to agricultural issues. 

    Tweets by @becky_parker_2

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2017
    February 2017
    June 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Speaking
  • Nuffield Scholarship
  • Contact
  • In the Media