Principles of Agroecology

A PAN Chat

About one week ago, I shared some webinars and articles that I was involved in serving in my capacity as a farmer and advocate/communications “professional.” I also mentioned that I was going to be presenting a PAN Chat on the subject of agroecology.

Well, the event has come and gone (April 3). And now it is available on Youtube for anyone to view if they wish. I have embedded the video at the bottom of today’s post, but you can also take this link to go to Youtube and view if the window below doesn’t work for you.

And don’t let the first image fool you, that’s not a playable item, it’s just a screen shot I grabbed so you could see my pretty cartoon face!

This is my personal invitation to you to view the webinar. The great thing about watching things after the fact is that you can speed up the playback a bit if you have less time, but still want to listen. And hey, if you get tired of a section you can even skip over portions. How great is that?

And I won’t even know you’re doing it. I guess that’s even better from your perspective!

My sense of the presentation is that after a little effort on my part to warm up, things went pretty well. I am a veteran of many online and in-person presentations, so I have developed some coping mechanisms to deal with the difficulties of presenting. But, I will say that online presentations are far more difficult in many ways.

You can probably make some guesses about things that might be challenging with online video presentations. For example, we sometimes have to deal with a wide range of technical issues, including the possibility that my rural internet connection might have glitches on what turned out to be a very windy day. And who hasn’t seen a video where the presenter was interrupted by a pet or family member with potentially hilarious results? Happily, there wasn’t anything that I think anyone will notice this time.

I suspect many people who have not presented in this fashion do not realize that I can’t see anyone in the audience. It can be very difficult to get into a presentation flow and be relatable when you are not receiving non-verbal clues from an audience. For all I knew, those in attendance were considering getting out the pitchforks and torches so they could chase me down. Or, worse yet, they’d all left the room and I was only talking to myself.

That last one, my friends, is probably one of the worst recurring nightmares I have had as both an introvert and an educator. Imagine, if you will, that a strongly introverted person has a responsibility to share expertise or knowledge with people in a room, but everything the introvert/presenter tries is failing and the audience is ignoring the presentation entirely. The stress dream usually ends with the realization that everyone has left. All of the effort to be well-prepared and to build up the courage to speak is wasted.

Now the introvert is tired AND deeply wounded. That’s kind of why it’s called a nightmare or stress dream. They typically don’t end well. But, you usually get to wake up. When it comes to a real online presentation, you just forge on!

The good news is that there were a few questions as the event progressed that let me know at least a few people were still there. And, I’ve developed a tougher skin than I had when I first started public speaking.

The other difficulty is that a live event is not a good place for me to read a fully prepared script. If there is a hint that I am reading from a document or reading my slides, I suspect that people will tune out and leave - at least mentally. But, when the presentation is also recorded, I sometimes find myself inwardly wincing when I don’t select the best words, phrases or ordering. It’s even worse if I err. Or error. Or… whatever. Goof up, you know?

But, hey, if I make a mistake or three, you know I’m human. Right? For all you know, I might be adding flaws to give it character. Yeah, that’s it! I err on purpose!

This is, perhaps, where things can be most difficult. If a presenter makes a mistake with a live, visible, and responsive audience, there are opportunities to play off of the crowd and make repairs. On the other hand, webinar tools typically enforce cameras off and muted microphones for everyone who is not a panelist. That does prevent issues that I have seen and had happen - like the person who didn’t know their microphone was on and they belched loudly in the middle of an important part of the presentation.

Yes, that happened. And that’s why webinars are often buttoned up to prevent such things from occuring.

And now, after all of that hullabaloo, I give you the Principles of Agroecology PAN Chat. Make sure you give me a virtual wave at some point while you watch so I know you’re there. The me that is now in the past will appreciate it!

Have a good day everyone!