Canola School: Introduce yourself, start a conversation

Your thirty second elevator pitch: We are often told we should have one. For many of us it is hard for us to even stammer out who we are in 30 seconds, let alone talk about something intelligently. Afterwards, we often think we should have said more, but with fewer words.

In this episode of Canola School, Kelvin Heppner talks with Jennifer Dyck, program manager with the Manitoba Canola Growers Association and the Canola Eat Well program, about how to introduce yourself and start a conversation. The trick is to be authentic, but poised at the same time. The real trick is, it shouldn’t be a trick. But that kind of spontaneity takes a lot of practice.

Dyck starts off with some observations about the agriculture industry’s love for jargon. “Many of us in the industry are quick to say, I’m an agronomist or I’m a farm writer, or I’m a farmer and for the general population, which is 96 per cent plus of us, we don’t necessarily understand those terms.” It is important to start off by at least making sure we are speaking the same language. (article continues after video)

Dyck says you need to get outside of your comfort zone, too. Don’t just talk to the people you always talk to. “The first step is just to start talking. Farmers are really great at talking to themselves, and our industry, but we really need to start breaking out of our silos and turning around an insuring that, as the smaller part of the country, are talking to everyone.”

Dyck explains that being passionate and staying positive are key to having good conversations with the non-farming public. “My passion is insuring that people have positive experiences with food and so I just want them to leave going that hey Canadian food is awesome and so for us in the Industry If you can just somehow leave people having a positive conversation.”

Remember, a great meal is not just the food, it’s the company and the conversation.

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