Thursday 24th, Dairy Council

Thursday we had a guest speaker again.  Her name was Karen Bakies and she is the Nutrition Affairs Director for the American Dairy Association Mideast.   It is a grassroots network of state and regional dairy councils that aim to provide timely, scientific-based information to the media, physicians, dietitians, nurses, educators, consumers and others concerned about living a healthy lifestyle.  The programs are funded by the dairy farmers.  Aside from specifics of the dairy council, Karen talked to us a lot about having good communication skills.  Knowing our audience, style of message delivery, and utilizing media are all three important factors that were emphasized for successful audience acceptance.  I personally liked when Karen talked about information retention and vocabulary.  It is important for us to remember that though we might be very passionate and excited about the nutrition information we are talking about, the audience is only going to take away a small fraction of what we say to them.  Also, with learners being 80% more likely to retain information that they experience themselves, it is important to engage the audience and think of creative activities to get them involved.  As far as language goes, it is important for us to also remember to keep in mind who we are talking to.  We go to college for 4+ years and learn tons of scientific terms and concepts, but if we can't bring those ideas down to their most basic level and explain them to a lay audience then our message is lost.  Overall, Thursday was an informative class, and not just one that helps nutrition majors, it was a useful lecture for students from all disciplines.