Communications
Orientation
on the Web

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

Organizational Communications

Every organization has both formal and informal methods of delivering information important to its employees. Most people receive regular emails or participate in regular staff meetings from their immediate supervisors.

Shared information is related to many topics, as subject matter, human resource updates, conferences and professional development. But how are major issues and overall needs of the entire organization communicated to each department or employee?

What are the methods available to employees to have their needs met and feedback gathered? What is the organizational structure and how do I stay in the loop?

The NDSU Extension Service is the outreach arm of the university, housed within the College of Agriculture, Food Systems and Natural Resources. The actual structure of the organization can be viewed in two ways:

1. How Extension fits into the College of Agriculture.

2. NDSU Extension Service structure.

A number of communication strategies exist to keep the flow of information healthy. Each of the following committees and organizations meet regularly and provide information to its members which helps build a system of communication for the entire organization.

These strategies are not intended to be hierarchal - instead, they are intended to provide a continual flow of information at many levels. However, each year a major effort will go into the development of a Plan of Work which guides all employees. Initial discussion begins in the spring and summer with a final plan submitted in August.

All employees are encouraged to join the professional association in their field as a basic method of building your network of co-workers and receiving current information and opportunities available for your Extension career.

Individual Communications

What do you think of when you hear "communications"? Communications includes all methods of written and spoken information transfer between two or more people.

NDSU Extension employees have many demands made of them for both written and spoken information. A number of written educational materials are available from the Distribution Center. Materials can also be located for each of the 10 subject matter areas.

Public speaking is also a required activity. Whether you need to speak or write, a review of the basics will be helpful.

Who and Why

The first two questions to ask are:

  • Who is your target audience?
  • What is your goal?

Define your target audience and goal or goals specifically. For example, for farmers to increase their no-till acreage by 10 percent, or for people with elevated cholesterol levels to decrease them by 50 points.

Writing or Speaking

Preparation

Whether you are writing or speaking, make sure you prepare. To prepare: 

  • analyze the audience - ask the organizers, survey the potential audience, talk to a representative sample, research demographics, if speaking ask the audience at the beginning of the session
  • determine the purpose - to inform, persuade, inspire, entertain?
  • brainstorm - capture ideas, ask others for ideas, research, don't worry about organization or focus yet, maybe even use sticky notes: one idea per note that can later be arranged or pitched
  • organize - group similar ideas, look for holes, start cutting excess, outline, put in bullets and headers
  • focus - select a topic and narrow it to fit the audience, what's the main point?, avoid information overload, the audience should be able to paraphrase back two to four main points from your article or presentation
  • make it relevant - so what?, what's in it for me?, don't assume the audience cares just because you do, put the reader's or listener's needs first
  • communicate - not just one-way delivery, make readers and listeners think & share
  • educate - the ultimate goal of learning is to have your audience not just understand the information but to retain and apply it so their behavior changes in a positive direction.

Language and Style

Your language and style will depend on the audience, the situation and much more, but here are some general guidelines.

  • be conversational - use contractions; short, familiar words; personal words; short sentences and paragraphs; action verbs; vivid descriptors; personalized "we" and "let's"; define technical words
  • be concise - get to the point

Writing

You need a purpose and a medium - newsletter, newspaper, position paper, personal letter, the list can go on. You also need to get to the point - share the conclusion first, then back it up. Avoid empty phrases, unnecessary words, too many prepositional phrases, mixed tenses, dangling modifiers, redundancy, careless repetition, non-agreement and mixed construction. Polish your style by reading it out loud and having someone else read it.

Speaking

Prepare oral presentations by focusing on content, structure and delivery.

  • Content - brainstorming  and focusing, audience analysis, topic selection
  • Structure - organize, speak in "chunks" of information, must be simple since listeners can't go back like readers can. Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. Grab their attention then get to the point. Include a thesis statement in the introduction and repeat it in the conclusion
  • Delivery - you're communicating, not performing; 75% of Americans have speech anxiety so listeners empathize with you; if you're comfortable with your content and structure, delivery will be easier; concentrate on your message, use humor only to help make a point. Practice with a friend, the mirror, the tape recorder, a video recorder; anticipate questions; have notes but be so well-prepared  you don't need them! Speak naturally but enunciate, avoid verbal garbage (ah, um, you know), use dramatic pauses instead. Gestures should be natural to clarify and emphasize, not distract. Know the room, arrive early to check out the situation (including equipment) and meet people. Don't look over the audience's heads, you need their non-verbal feedback. Audiovisuals support spoken words, don't replace them. Try to use actual objects or at least visual representations, not just words. Keep AVs as clean and simple as possible, one idea per visual.

Get Started

Check out "The Unwriting Workshop" from the Distribution Center. E-mail your request to dctr@ndsuext.nodak.edu. In this 14-minute videotape Mark Twain provides ideas to help you improve your writing and leads you through exercises in the accompanying 17-page workbook.

Next Session

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