You Know More Than You Think

• Owen Roberts
• March 15, 2022
• Newsletter Article

You Know More Than You Think But you might still become victim of the Imposter Syndrome. Here’s how to avoid it.

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Consumers’ interest in food production is shining a new light on agriculture – and on people who can talk about it publicly, from a podium, on social media and through traditional media.

 

This is an amazing opportunity for agriculture, and for you. Agriculture is constantly diversifying, and journalists’ endless quest for new sources may lead to your door. They want to hear real stories and opinions from a breadth of people in the field.

 

Similarly, you may decide now is the time to tell your story and proactively seek out opportunities to have your voice heard.

 

If either scenario sounds like you, congratulations! Welcome to the community of people who are accepting the challenge of publicly portraying agriculture accurately and widely.

 

This role is no longer exclusively for someone else, like official spokespeople. The community needs as many people to join as possible in agriculture. If consumers, decision makers and others are anxious to understand more about the sector from the very people who make it hum, why not jump at the chance to oblige? Why not tell how sustainability, safety and profitability intersect on farm?

 

But first, be aware of a few facts.

Some journalists are headline hunters and have burned farmers before, but the vast majority rise to their role of telling accurate, balanced stories. Now that doesn’t mean they will always be your friend or present agriculture in a positive light – expecting them to be on “your side” or pro-agriculture, is a mistake.

 

But it also doesn’t mean you need to be instantly suspicious of their motives. They want to know what the public wants to know, and research by entities such as the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity tells us the public wants to know more about food production.

 

Here’s something to remember: Connecting with the public with or without the media’s involvement means you will get asked a lot of questions. You may be unfamiliar with some of the topics. After all, given the breadth of the agri-food sector, how many of us can go in depth on its entirety?

 

Intrinsically, that makes sense. But unfamiliarity can lead to self-doubt and a spiralling rabbit hole from which it’s hard to emerge. It’s a scenario in which a devil is perched on your shoulder, incessantly asking, “Who are YOU to speak about a multi-billion-dollar industry?”

 

This is called Imposter Syndrome. It was identified decades ago, defined in part as “an internal experience of intellectual phoniness.” It can send its victims running for the exits, missing the chance to raise agriculture’s profile, not to mention, their own.

 

Imposter Syndrome can be avoided. The key to avoiding it is to talk about what you know and avoid or defer on areas you don’t.

 

For example, I know about communications. So when I get asked questions about certain technologies (genetically modified organisms, for example), I offer to discuss communication issues surrounding them, but that’s it. I will refer questions about the science of technology to people whose professional lives are immersed in it.

 

Maybe you’re not an expert yet in a particular field. But you know more than you think you do, like your understanding of the culture of agriculture, which is perfect for telling certain stories.

 

You can explain family-farming values, such as sustainability and how generation after generation has kept the family farm productive by emphasizing sustainability.

 

You can explain how crop protection and animal health is vital to farming operations, and how technology – government tested and approved – is used by farmers to keep plants and animals out of harm’s way.

 

You are not an imposter when you talk about what you know.

 

If you ever need help working with the media, you can always seek advice from communications professionals at commodity organizations and elsewhere. They’re eager to have people in the field acquire or further develop communications skills.

 

Seize the opportunity!

You’re the real deal.


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