Session 1 - Welcome to the NDSU Extension Service

Session 2 - Who We Are and What We Do

Session 3 - Policies and Procedures

Session 4 - Information Technology

Session 5 - Communications

Session 6 - The Land-Grant University

Session 7 - Program Development and Educational Design

Session 8 - Evaluation

Session 9 - 4-H Youth Development

Session 10 - Personalizing Your Programs

Session 11 - Professional Development

Session 12 - Working with Differences

Session 13 - Balancing Work and Personal Life

Session 14 - Organizational Management

Session 15 - Volunteer Management

Session 16 - Wrap-up

Resources

Contacts

If there’s anything that can be done to make your first year with the NDSU Extension Service better, please contact your supervisor (district director, assistant director or department chair) or Deb Gebeke, Assistant Director, Staff Development.
debra.gebeke@ndsu.edu

Communication is an important skill for Extension educators. Whether you’re presenting to a group, writing a newsletter, being interviewed by a reporter or working with a group of people, you’re communicating.

Here are some communications tips that will be especially useful as you begin your Extension career.

Presentations

Extension agents and specialists often are in front of people sharing information or facilitating discussion. Doing a good job in presentations relies a great deal on confidence. With practice, you’ll feel confident presenting – and that confidence will show.

A few tips:

• As you start preparing for any presentation, ask:

  Who is my target audience? Be as specific as possible: not just farmers, but middle-aged crop farmers who are eager to learn new technologies.
  
  What is my goal? What do I want my audience to know and do as a result? Again, be as specific as possible. How will you measure whether or not this goal is accomplished?

• Prepare thoroughly. Don’t try to wing it. Work from an outline of information you want to cover.
  
  
• Practice. It may sound like 4-H or FFA days, but videotape yourself presenting. You might be surprised with the number of hmm’s and ahh’s.
  
  
• Start strong. “OK, let’s get started” isn’t a very motivating introduction. What will attendees know and be able to do after your presentation?
  
  
• Cut the word “lecture” from your vocabulary. Instead, try to facilitate a discussion with your audience. (Obviously, this probably won’t work with a large group, but the concept of discussion rather than lecture remains.) Try to be the guide on the side instead of solely the sage on the stage. Adults have many life experiences. Ask them to share to learn from each other.
  
  
• Focus. Rather than overloading the audience with information, focus on a few points people can remember and use.
  
  
• Encourage questions and discussion throughout rather than waiting until the end. However, make sure the presentation keeps flowing rather than getting hung-up on a topic that wasn’t publicized.
  
  
• Make eye contact with your audience. You’ll be able to tell if they’re confused or asleep so you can change gears.
  
  
• Always face the audience. If you must look at PowerPoints, either glance at the computer screen that’s set in front of you or just quickly glance at the screen behind/beside you.
  
  
• Don’t let PowerPoints tell the complete story. If practically every word is on the slides, why does the audience need you? They can read. Your PowerPoints should just be bullet points that reinforce main points. Tell them more than just what’s on the PowerPoint.
  
  
• Have a backup for your PowerPoints or any other technology.
  
  
• Try to use real props and demonstrations rather than just pictures in PowerPoints.
  
  
• Dress appropriately. The general rule is to dress one notch above your audience.

Working with the Media

Get to know your local print editors and broadcast assignment editors. Explain the variety of resources available through Extension, and offer yourself as a resource. Suggest story ideas, a regular column, news releases, whatever’s appropriate. Provide background materials for possible stories.

Interviews

You can prepare for an interview. You can do a better job of sharing your educational information if you prepare rather than just answering a reporter’s questions off the cuff. Here are some tips:

• Write out three or four main points you want to get across about the topic. Practice saying these points in different ways.
  
  
• During the interview, bridge to your points. Don’t worry if that’s not exactly the question the reporter asked. The question is nearly always cut out in the final piece. Besides, the reporter may not understand the topic enough to know what questions to ask.
  
  
• Offer to provide the reporter with a printed summary of the topic. Maybe highlight the important points in your newsletter or a publication. Most reporters appreciate this documentation.
  
  
• Don’t tell the reporter you want to see the story before it runs or airs. This questions their professionalism. However, if you’ve developed a relationship with the reporter, you might say, “I realize we’ve talked about some technical information, so I’d be glad to review the story before it runs to make sure everything is accurate.” If offered, then do review for accuracy rather than rewriting the story.

News Releases and Columns

The media don’t always have time to interview you, so provide them with information through news releases. Most prefer to receive news releases by e-mail so they don’t have to rekey, but ask. Tips for news releases include:

• Make sure the information is truly newsworthy. Ask yourself “so what?” and “who cares?” Warning: a few North Dakota newspapers have a policy to not run information about upcoming events if there’s a registration fee. They figure you can buy an advertisement with some of those funds.
  
  
• Get to the point. Think about what’s most important for people to know and put it first rather than building to a conclusion at the end.
  
  
• Include the five W’s and H: who, what, where, when, why and how.
  
  
• Keep news releases brief. If the editor has a 3-inch hole on the page and your news release is six inches, she may grab something else.
  
  
• Send media alerts sometimes rather than complete news releases. Provide the media with the basic information, even without complete sentences. They want the information but often prefer to write it in their own style. Again, ask your editors and assignment editors how they want to receive different kinds of news, including photos.
  
  
• Ask your editors and assignment editors if they’d be interested in a regular column or radio/TV program. This is a major commitment on your part, but it’s a great way to get Extension information to the public and a super marketing tool.
  
  
• Columns are different than news releases since they may include personal information and even be written in first person. Try to add some personality to your column rather than just having it be a list of upcoming events or information from specialists.

NDSU Agriculture Communications sends about 10 news releases and columns every week to all the daily and weekly newspapers, and radio and TV stations in North Dakota, plus many outside the state. These can be viewed at www.ag.ndsu.edu/news. If you want to receive them by e-mail, send a note to Rich Mattern (richard.mattern@ndsu.edu).

Newsletters

Newsletters, whether printed or electronic, provide specific information to targeted audiences. Think about the goals you want your newsletter to accomplish, keep the articles brief and use graphics to help tell the story.

Contact Deb Tanner at 701-231-7891 to have a template designed that you can add content to for each issue of your newsletter.

Include the Extension logo, NDSU non-discrimination statement and alternative formats statement.

Mailing printed materials is not a cheap. Contact Sharon Lane at 231-7883 to brainstorm options that might save you money: running your addresses through a software program, bulk mailing from campus, etc.

Correspondence

Though you may not think of it as communication, your everyday correspondence communicates information – and your professionalism. Think before writing, no matter what kind of document, even e-mail. Use correct grammar, punctuation and spelling. Re-read the document to catch errors. Better yet, have someone else read it or read it out loud.

Publications

If you’re writing an Extension publication, see the Guidelines for Educational Materials.

Copyright

As with life in general, if you want to use something of someone else’s, ask first. Just because you’re using information for educational purposes doesn’t mean you don’t have to get permission. The fair use doctrine is complicated, but in general, if you use enough of someone else’s information that it devalues their original work, you must ask permission. You, of course, can use snippets of information without permission but still giving credit. This applies to printed publications, Web pages, PowerPoints, any information source.

If you want to use a significant chunk of information or a graphic (photo, drawing, etc.), you must contact the owner and get permission in writing (e-mail is fine). For information from other universities, the institution is almost always the copyright owner. You may ask the author, but try to go directly to the copyright holder if it’s listed on the original.

The Ag Communication director or her designee gives permissions for others to use NDSU Extension Service resources. Have others send requests to NDSU.permission@ndsu.edu. As Extension staff, you don’t need permission to use information from our own publications or Web pages or from any federal government agency. Even if you don’t need legal permission, give credit to the author for professional courtesy.

Resources

The Ag Communication staff are eager to help you communicate in your job. See the directory and call any staff member who might be most likely to help you. Ag Comm staff are glad to provide feedback on writing or newsletter design, ask you practice questions before an interview, edit a news release or help in any other way.

Review the Ag Comm Web page to learn about other services Ag Communication provides. These include support for videoconferencing (Polycom) and webconferencing (Wimba), video and audio work, marketing resources, display or poster development, printing and copying, letterhead and business cards, distribution of publications and 4-H trunks, and much more.

A short online writing training called “The Unwriting Workshop” is available by contacting becky.koch@ndsu.edu. Purdue’s Online Writing Lab is an excellent resource.

Some Ag Comm services (graphics and video/audio) are required to charge a labor fee in addition to materials costs. Check with your supervisor about funding support that may be available.

Next Session

We use the phrase all the time, but what does it really mean? The Land-Grant University.