Know Your Audience for Successful Outreach 

Randy Pausch said: “The size of your audience doesn’t matter. What’s important is that your audience is listening.” Listening is important to all forms of outreach such as education, information sharing, events, meetings, programs, etc. Always know the audience you intend to reach so they are receptive to hearing what you are offering. Three key steps:

• Identify your intended audience. Articulating who your audience is provides a foundation for moving forward in effectively designing your outreach.
• Research your audience. You may think you know your audience because you have interacted with them previously. However, depending on the topic or the focus of the outreach, individual opinions, values, and perspectives can change. Don’t make assumptions. Connect with others who may be able to provide insight into your audience.
• Tailor your message to your specific audience. Different messaging is necessary for different audiences. Use examples, case studies and stories that relate to your audience’s experiences.

Each year, around the end of October, trainers and technical staff from the TTCP Partnership meet to review training requests submitted in Individual Development Plans (IDPs). We use these requests to prioritize training delivery and determine locations for in person training. We need your help to get an accurate assessment of technical training needs – please complete your IDP.

The deadline to complete 2021 IDPs is October 15.

In addition to first time users creating new IDPs, we are asking everyone to make sure their technical training requests are up to date. For the coming year we will not consider any training needs dated prior to January 1, 2021. This will better reflect the needed technical skills and improve the accuracy of training delivery in 2022. Updating your training needs is a quick process, and we have developed a brief video demonstrating how to do this.

We have assembled several resources to assist you in completing your IDP:

• Technical Staff Guidance
• Manager Guidance
• IDP Skill Matrix
• Skill Matrix Definitions
• Adding New Training Requests
• Updating Training Requests
• Adding Training History
• Viewing Credentials

If you would like to know more about IDPs and how TTCP uses the information, check out this Webinar Replay. Also, a summary of the 2020 IDP technical training requests can be found here.

If you still have questions or need assistance, please contact us.

Housed on the MNC3 website, the Core Competencies deliver the foundational knowledge of soil and water conservation. These training modules were released in November 2020, and during the last 10 months over 300 accounts have been created and 2,000 modules have been completed!

In addition to the Core Competencies, we have also started posting additional training opportunities. Take a minute to check out the  Agronomy Tech Note #31 and Soil Erosion training opportunities.

Another new exciting feature is the recent introduction of Badges, which are awarded after completing a series of trainings. Can you collect them all?

• Soil Scholar: Complete the three Soils Core Competency modules
• Water Wise: Complete the eight Water Quality Core Competency modules
• Planning Partner: Complete the eight Conservation Planning Core Competency modules
• Committed Conservationist: Complete all 19 Core Competency modules
• Skilled Seeder: Complete the four Agronomy Tech Note #31 modules

We continue to add new modules and badges, so be sure to check back often.

Drought Impacts

Drought impacts are widespread throughout Minnesota, presenting many unique conservation issues. Reducing tillage, preventing overgrazing, and mitigating wildfire hazard are critical steps that should be taken now to help reduce the impacts of drought. If you would like to learn more about the resources available to local conservationists working with farmers, grazers, and forest landowners this fall, please join us on September 23 at 8:30.