LET'S COMMUNICATE
Agriculture Communication Newsletter
August 2000,No. 56
CONTENTS
WRITE THE RIGHT WORD
DEFINE AUDIENCE AND GOAL
WRITE THE RIGHT WORD
"The finest words in the world are only vain sounds if you cannot
understand them."--Anatole France
***
The Trained Professional Watch found a syndicated columnist
guilty of two communicative sins. The columnist was taking a
federation CEO to task for being (in his opinion) less than
truthful, saying the CEO's "...trick is called DISASSEMBLING, or
'spin.'" The columnist could have meant the CEO's argument was
coming apart, but adding the definition, "spin," proved he was
just plain wrong. The word he wanted was DISSEMBLING, meaning
putting on a false appearance or concealing facts. So, he was
guilty of using an incorrect word, but the correct one was
totally unnecessary. Why use a word you feel you have to define
when there is a handy alternative? Guilty on a second count-- using
big words you don't need and can't even spell.
***
Which reminds me of a rancher I met many years ago as a roving
reporter for a regional farm magazine. He had a bare minimum of
formal education but a healthy respect for the written word. When
their kids were growing up, he and his wife made a point of
having good books in the house, including a set of Winston
Churchill. He said of Winston, with awe in his voice, "He uses
words I've never heard before, but he uses them so somehow you
just know what they mean." I can't think of a better description
of a master of the language. Unfortunately, most of us mere
mortals don't have that skill.
***
One more Trained Professional Watch catch, and this is one for
the record books. A national news magazine (we're talking one of
the Big Three here) described vice presidential candidate Joseph
Lieberman as having a "RYE" sense of humor. Does that mean the
candidate tells good jokes when he's been drinking? No, I presume
he has a WRY sense of humor, meaning clever and ironic. Not a
damaging error in the great scheme of things, but enough to lower
credibility a half-notch or so among those picky enough to
notice.
DEFINE AUDIENCE AND GOAL
Your first two questions in planning any communications or
educational program effort should be:
Who is my target audience?
What is my goal?
Define your target audience and goals specifically. Are you
trying to reach Midwestern canola producers, parents of
kindergartners in your county, North Dakota community leaders or
junior-high youth in your county? The general public is not a
targeted audience. Clearly define who you're trying to reach.
What are their demographics and psychographics?
Think about how the target audience should benefit from your
program. Just hearing about a new topic or even understanding it
isn't enough anymore. Identify what the learners will be able to
do, think or feel after completing the educational experience.
How or what did they change as a result of your program?
Write out these learner objectives to keep focused on what you
need to do. Remember, these are not objectives for you as the
teacher but rather for the learners.
Clear learning objectives help with impact evaluation. If the
objectives define the hopeful impact, it's easier to evaluate
whether that impact happened.
Here are examples of target audiences and objectives:
* After this educational effort, soybean farmers in Franklin
County will increase their no-till acreage by 10 percent.
* As a result of this educational program, 25 percent of North
Dakota adults will develop advanced directives for end-of-life
issues.* Because of this collaborative effort, North Dakota sixth
graders will increase their milk consumption to four glasses a
day.
Writing out your specific target audience and learner objectives
will help the Ag Com staff help you select and develop the best
communication tools to reach your audience and meet your
objectives.
Becky Koch
LET'S COMMUNICATE
If you have questions or comments, or would like to submit information or
make a suggestion, contact:
Agriculture Communication
Attn: Becky Koch
7 Morrill Hall
Phone: 231-7875
FAX: 231-7044
e-mail: bkoch@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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