Tag Archives: Women’s Committee Handbook

Public Speaking 101

March 5, 2020UncategorizedWomen's Committee Handbook, Women's Leadership Committee, Women's Leadership ProgramRachael Smith

Women’s Committee Handbook

Speaking in public is the #1 fear of all fears. The fear of dying is #7! Over 41% of people have some fear or anxiety dealing with speaking in front of groups. People who have this fear can experience all kinds of symptoms: Sweaty palms, accelerated heart rate, memory loss and even difficulty in breathing.

Some of the world’s most famous presenters have freely admitted to nervousness and stage fright. Mark Twain said it best, “There are two types of speakers: those that are nervous and those that are liars”.

Everyone, even experienced speakers, has some anxiety when speaking in front of a group of people. The best way to deal with this anxiety is to first acknowledge that this fear is perfectly normal and you are not alone. To reduce your fear, you need to make sure you properly and thoroughly prepare yourself before you speak. Proper preparation and rehearsal can help to reduce this fear by about 75%. Proper breathing techniques can further reduce this fear by another 15%. Your mental state accounts for the remaining 10%.

Below are just a few suggestions you should use to overcome your speaking anxiety. The first and most important of all is preparation. Think of it as the 9 P’s:

Prior Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance of the Person Putting on the Presentation.

Nothing will relax you more than to know you are properly prepared. Below are 10 steps you can take to reduce your speech anxiety.

Know the room – Become familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive early and walk around the room including the speaking area. Stand at the podium and speak into the microphone. Walk around where the audience will be seated. Walk from where you will be seated to the place where you will be speaking.
Know the Audience – If possible, greet some of the audience as they arrive and chat with them. It is easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of strangers.
Know Your Material – If you are not familiar with your material or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will increase. Practice your speech or presentation and revise it until you can present it with ease.
Learn How to Relax – You can ease tension by doing exercises. Sit comfortable with your back straight. Breathe in slowly, hold your breath for 4 to 5 seconds, and then slowly exhale. To relax your facial muscles, open your mouth and eyes wide, then close them tightly.
Visualize Yourself Speaking – Imagine yourself walking confidently to the lectern as the audience applauds. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear and assured. When you visualize yourself as successful, you will be successful.
Realize People Want You To Succeed – All audiences want speakers to be interesting, stimulating, informative and entertaining. They want you to succeed – not fail.
Don’t apologize For Being Nervous – Most of the time your nervousness does not show at all. If you don’t say anything about it, nobody will notice. If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problems you think you have with your speech, you’ll only be calling attention to it.
Concentrate on Your Message (not the medium) – Your nervous feelings will dissipate if you focus your attention away from your anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience, not yourself.
Turn Nervousness into Positive Energy – The same nervous energy that causes stage fright can be an asset to you. Harness it, and transform it into vitality and enthusiasm.
Gain Experience – Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking. Most beginning speakers find their anxieties decrease after each speech they give.Remember, “He who fails to prepare is preparing for failure – so Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!”
The more you know about your speaking environment and your audience, the more relaxed you will be when delivering your speech. Many speakers; however, often overlook the need to include any kind of audience analysis as part of their speech preparation. Proper audience analysis will assure that you give the right speech to the right audience. Using the word “A-U-D-I-E-N-C-E” as an acronym, we have defined some general audience analysis categories that these surveys should include.

Analysis – Who are they? How many will be there?

Understanding – What is their knowledge of the subject?

Demographics – What is their age, sex, educational background?

Interest – Why are they there? Who asked them to be there?

Environment – Where will I stand? Can they all see & hear me?

Needs – What are their needs? What are your needs as the speaker?

Customized – What specific needs do you need to address?

Expectations – What do they expect to learn or hear from you?

Develop specific questions that fit into each of these eight categories and ask the client or audience to tell you what they want. Essentially, ask them what they need and give it to them.

Volunteers

March 5, 2020UncategorizedVolunteers, Women's Committee Handbook, Women's Leadership Committee, Women's Leadership ProgramRachael Smith

Women’s Committee Handbook

Matching the Volunteer to the Job

What has this person done well?
A person will tend to volunteer for a task, which is similar to one, which he/she performed before.

What does this person like to do?
Too many times, the volunteer is eagerly accepted to fill a spot to suit the organization’s immediate need, but the real needs of the volunteer are never known, and the person’s real skills are never used.

What would the person like to do better?
People join volunteer efforts to develop their skills. Help them determine how their involvement will benefit them.

With whom would he/she like to work?
Often the prospective volunteer has been encouraged to enroll by someone already engaged in the work. Or perhaps the volunteer is hoping to meet new friends or get to know an influential leader.

What are the person’s aspirations?
Determine the possible objectives of the individual as you speak with the volunteer.

Does the person see the value of the task?
Ensure that the prospective volunteer sees the meaning and importance of the work.

Asking them to Serve

Successful Ways to Ask:

Know what the job is
Give a complete explanation of the job
Make an appointment to visit them at their home
Keep the appointment
Tell them why you are asking them
Tell them why the job is important
Tell them the time required
Tell them what has been done before
Ask them to help!

Ways that are Sure to Fail:

Tell them you are desperate
Tell them that they owe you
Lie a little to make the task seem more appealing
Make them feel guilty

Increasing Committee Effectiveness

Set goals
Build teams
Send them to training
Establish reporting mechanisms
Eliminate dead weight
Celebrate accomplishments

Conducting Meetings

March 5, 2020UncategorizedConducting Meetings, Women's Committee Handbook, Women's Leadership CommitteeRachael Smith

Women’s Committee Handbook

The meeting leader must focus the energy and attention of participants and keep them moving towards the meeting’s objectives. This is a multifaceted task that can be better understood by breaking a meeting into three major components.

The Major Components of a Meeting

Content – The information, knowledge, experience, opinions, ideas, myths, attitudes and expectations that participants bring to the meeting.

Interaction – The way participants work together while processing the meeting’s content. This includes feelings, attitudes and expectations that bear on cooperation, listening, participation, trust and openness.

Structure – The way in which both information and participants are organized to achieve the meeting’s purpose.

An effective leader is attentive to each of the above meeting components. The meeting leader’s role is to monitor progress and provide direction. In some meetings participants help provide direction. This makes the leader’s job easier. In other meetings the leader is requires to provide most of the direction.

To be an effective leader you must be able to analyze each situation, determine what is needed to move forward and take necessary action to achieve the objectives. On the following page is an outline of activities in each of the component areas that may be appropriate during a meeting.

Conducting Meetings

The leader’s role is to monitor the activity in each key component areas and provide missing elements required to move the group toward the meeting’s objectives.

Sample Agenda

See Agenda Exampl e

Effective Meetings

Sticking to Business

To prevent wandering during your meetings, use some of these techniques:
Plan discussion, set your goals for what you want to accomplish
Plan, Plan, Plan
Plan your agenda Focus on local issues
Start on time
Move non-agenda, non-critical issues to next month’s agenda
Use board meeting time wisely, don’t waste time on delegate-able decisions
Be aware of board meeting time and its allocation Eliminate unnecessary recesses
Ban cell phones or excuse cell phone users from the room Hold questions until the speaker is finished
Set time limits for reports and speakers

Seven Ways to Stop Meeting Creativity

We’ve never done it that way in this organization.
We’re not ready for that yet.
We’re doing all right without it.
We’ve tried that once and it failed. Why bother doing it again?
It cost too much.
That’s not our responsibility. Why should we get involved?
It won’t work.

Meeting Evaluation

Directions: Consider the typical meeting you attend. Compare your meeting to the following characteristics of an effective meeting. Check those statements that apply to meetings you normally conduct or attend.

An agenda is prepared prior to the meeting.
Meeting participants have an opportunity to contribute to the agenda.
Advance notice of meeting time and place is provided to those invited.
Meeting facilities are comfortable and adequate for the number of participants.
The meeting begins on time.
The meeting has a scheduled ending time.
The use of time is monitored throughout the meeting.
Everyone has an opportunity to present his or her point of view.
Participants listen attentively to each other.
There are periodic summaries as the meeting progresses.
No one tends to dominate the discussion.
Everyone has a voice in decisions made at the meeting.
The meeting typically ends with a summary of accomplishments.
The meeting is periodically evaluated by the participants.
People can be depended upon to carry out any action agreed to during the meeting.
Minutes of the meeting are provided to each participant following the meeting.
The meeting leader follows up with participants on action agreed to during the meeting.
The appropriate and necessary people can be counted on to attend each meeting.
The decision process used is appropriate for the size of the group.
When used, audiovisual equipment is in good working condition and does not detract from the meeting.

Number of statements checked____________ x 5 = ____________ Meeting Score

A score of 80 or more indicates you attend a high percentage of quality meetings. A score below 60 suggests that work be required to improve the quality of meetings you attend.

Young Farmer and Rancher Representative to Women’s Leadership Committee

February 26, 2020UncategorizedWomen's Committee Handbook, Women's Leadership Committee, YF&R, Young Farmer and Rancher RepresentativeRachael Smith

Women’s Committee Handbook

The Young Farmer and Rancher (YF&R) Representative to the State Women’s Leadership Committee is the vital link between women, ages 18-35 and the State Women’s Leadership Committee. She is the spokesperson for her YF&R Leadership team and should represent them at Farm Bureau functions. The YF&R Representative to the State Women’s Leadership Committee is voted on by her YF&R Leadership Team for a one-year term at the Florida Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in October.

Be knowledgeable in all aspects of the total Farm Bureau Program, particularly YF&R
Attend all scheduled meetings of the State Women’s Leadership Committee during her one-year appointment as the YF&R representative.
Contribute to the determination of the annual women’s program of work based on local, state, and national issues and concerns.
Work alongside District Chairmen to develop and assist in annual planning/training meetings.
Contact and update other YF&R Leadership Team members on a regular basis. It is her responsibility to keep YF&R women informed on issues and events concerning the state program.
Report State Women’s Leadership Committee activities to the YF&R Leadership Team
Help surface Women’s Committee and YF&R leaders for the organization
Support efforts to publicize State Women’s Leadership Conference and other statewide meetings in individual districts.
Assist in planning and implementation of women’s activities at FFBF Annual Meeting
Participate in AFBF meetings as needed
Seek the assistance of their district women’s chairman and state program coordinator when appropriate and necessary.

Women’s Leadership Program State Committee Chairman Duties

February 26, 2020UncategorizedState Committee Chairman Duties, Women's Committee Handbook, Women's Leadership CommitteeRachael Smith

Women’s Committee Handbook

Preside over all official FFBF Women’s Leadership Committee meetings.
Represent the Women’s Leadership Program on the Florida Farm Bureau State Board of Directors and report women’s activities to the board.
Work with Women’s Program coordinator to develop agendas for State Women’s Leadership Committee meetings.
Preside at Women’s Annual Business Meeting at Florida Farm Bureau’s Annual Meeting and opening session of annual State Women’s Leadership Conference.
Practice established parliamentary procedures in conducting all meetings.
Keep informed on current agricultural issues and Florida Farm Bureau Federation Policies and direct this information to committee chairmen.
Represent Florida Farm Bureau at meetings/conferences called by American Farm Bureau for state chairmen including the American Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.
Present suggested goals for the year to the committee for discussion and approval. Committee may add or delete goals on the list. She and the committee will plan projects and set goals and objectives at the beginning of each year.
Keep the women informed on what the committee is doing.
Strive for peace and harmony within the committee. She is the “neutral” person on the committee and the “peacemaker” if there is dissention within the group.
As a delegate to the American Farm Bureau Women’s Session, she will pick up the women’s delegate badges and see that Florida women delegates know where to meet her to receive them. Also make sure the Florida women delegates know where the first function is.
She is the head of the Florida Farm Bureau Women’s Delegation and should discuss ahead of time how the delegation wants to vote. She does not have to “block vote”; however, she can agree to disagree.
She will give a report at the Florida Farm Bureau Annual Meeting on the activities of the women during the past year (5-10 minutes).
Ultimately, she represents the women of Farm Bureau. People judge what she does and says, and that reflects on all the women of Farm Bureau.

State Women’s Committee-Vice Chairman Duties

February 26, 2020UncategorizedState Women's Committee, Vice Chairman Duties, Women's Committee HandbookRachael Smith

Women’s Committee Handbook

In the absence of the chairman, the vice chairman assumes the duties of the chairman.
Attend annual district planning/training meetings.
Attend State Board of Directors meetings every other month. She is a voting member and represents the women of FFBF, not her county. As such, she needs to deliberate and carefully consider the issues when addressing the board.
Deliver a short devotional message at the beginning of each State Board of Directors meeting as well as State Women’s Leadership Committee meeting.
Assist the chairman in any way you can.
Strive for peace and harmony within the State Women’s Leadership Committee. The committee depends upon the vice-chairman and the chairman to set the tone for the committee.

Women’s Leadership Program District Chairman Duties

February 26, 2020UncategorizedDistrict Chairman Duties, Women's Committee Handbook, Women's Leadership ProgramRachael Smith

Women’s Committee Handbook

Be knowledgeable in all aspects of the total Farm Bureau program.
Attend all scheduled meetings of the State Women’s Leadership Committee.
Determine the annual women’s program of work based on local, state, and national issues and concerns.
Conduct annual district planning/training meetings.
Contact all county women’s leadership chairmen on a regular basis. It is her responsibility to keep county women informed on issues and events concerning the state program.
Keep informed of women’s activities in individual counties and serve as a resource for county committees. Pass information on to State Women’s Leadership Committee.
Help surface county leaders for the organization.
Attend training sessions for developing skills in committee leadership.
Represent the women’s leadership program at district and regional meetings called by Florida Farm Bureau Federation.
Support special projects of the Women’s Leadership Program.
Assist with planning and implementing the program for the State Women’s Leadership Conference.
Publicize State Women’s Leadership Conference and other statewide meetings in individual districts.
Plan and implement women’s activities at FFBF Annual Meeting.
Participate in American Farm Bureau meetings as needed.

Women’s Leadership Program County Chairman Duties

February 26, 2020UncategorizedCounty Chairman Duties, Women's Committee HandbookRachael Smith

Women’s Committee Handbook

The County Women’s Chairman is the vital link between the women in the county, the District Women’s Chairman, and the State Women’s Leadership Committee. She is the spokesperson for her committee and should represent them at Farm Bureau functions. She is responsible to her county Farm Bureau board of directors and to all women in the county. It is encouraged that she be a member of the county board of directors and attend all county board meetings.

Encourage the active participation of all Farm Bureau women in the county organization in order to build and strengthen the local Farm Bureau.
Encourage the development and participate in state programs that conform to the needs in her county.
Attend meetings of the county Farm Bureau board where she should report and/or receive instructions from the board of directors. She then should encourage and direct the women members of the Farm Bureau to follow through on the work of the organization.
Encourage local attendance at the FFBF State Women’s Leadership Conference, district meetings, and annual meeting of FFBF.
Seek the assistance of their district women’s chairman and state program coordinator when necessary.
Report county women’s leadership committee activities to the district women’s leadership committee member.
Preside at all business meetings of the county Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee.
Prepare an agenda for each meeting.
Check with people to whom responsibilities are delegated to see if assignments are being carried out.
Evaluate progress.
Give recognition.

Legislative Process

February 26, 2020UncategorizedFarmPAC, FBACT, FedPAC, FloridAgriculture eNewsletter, Legislative Action Center, Legislative Process, Women's Committee HandbookRachael Smith

Women’s Committee Handbook

The state legislature is divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 40 members and is led by the Senate President; the House has 120 members and is led by the Speaker of the House. Both leadership positions are elected by the members of the individual chambers.

The work of the legislature is done in its committees. A committee is a group of legislators chosen by the presiding officer to perform specific functions.

The most familiar are standing committees. Standing committees have a continuing authority to consider matters within their subject field, including bills filed by members of the house. The name of the committee usually describes its policy jurisdiction. The House Agriculture Committee is an example of a standing committee.

After a legislator files a bill, the Speaker or President assigns it to committees. The committees can amend the bill, pass the bill, or reject the bill altogether (also known as killing the bill). After the bill is passed by all its committees of reference, it is sent to the full house for a floor vote.

The full house then votes whether to amend it, pass it, or kill it. If a bill is not voted on by the time session ends, it dies automatically. If a legislator wants to pass a bill that died, he must go through the whole process again the next year.

A bill must be passed by both the Senate and the House in order to become law. That means that there must be a House version and a Senate version for each bill and each version must go through the complete process within its chamber. The House bills are given odd numbers; the Senate, even. After legislative passage, the bill is sent to the governor, who has three options: sign it, veto it, or let it become law without a signature. Most bills become law by the third method.

Impacting the Legislative Process

As a Floridian and an active Farm Bureau member, one of your responsibilities is to help elect the legislators who represent you. However, your role in the democratic process does not end at the polls. By sharing your opinions and ideas with your representatives and senators in Tallahassee, you help them decide what to do about the issues and pending legislation that affect us all.

Florida Farm Bureau is active and effective in affecting both elections and the legislative process, and the involvement of members like you is key to Farm Bureau’s success.

Elections

Florida Farm Bureau has established political action committees (PACs) at both the state and federal level that help us work to elect leaders who are friendly to agriculture. Florida FarmPAC is the state level PAC and raises funds through a $2 voluntary contribution that is a part of the membership renewal. FedPAC is the federal PAC and raises funds through direct solicitation of active, non-corporate members.

For both PACs, contributions to candidates begin with requests from County Farm Bureaus. When a County Farm Bureau makes a request, the FFBF board must approve the request before a contribution is made. Many times FFBF staff works with the County Farm Bureaus and the state board to vet the candidates to ensure that they are supportive of Farm Bureau’s legislative goals.

Florida Farm Bureau’s PACs are instrumental in helping elect agriculture-friendly candidates and helping our organization form lasting relationships with elected leaders.

Grassroots efforts by Florida Farm Bureau members are a key part of our legislative success. It is incredibly important for Farm Bureau members to effectively communicate with their elected leaders at the local state and national levels.

Elected officials receive a huge amount of communication from their constituents, lobbyists and others. Unfortunately, their full agendas limit their ability to personally read and respond to it all. How then, can you be sure your voice is heard? Here are some tips to help you get the most impact out of your communications with your elected officials.

General Tips

Know who your elected officials are and how to contact them. If you don’t know who represents you, you can find out by using Farm Bureau’s Legislative Action Center.

Contact your elected officials about a particular issue before the legislature takes action on it. Most matters coming before the legislature are well publicized before session. Keep an eye on your weekly Ag Watch newsletter and The Tallahassee and Washington Reports in the FloridAgriculture magazine for information on our legislative agenda.

Use as personal of a method as you can. Personalized emails, and phone calls are generally more effective than form messages. If you’re able to set up a face-to-face meeting either in the capitol or in their district office, it’s even better.

If you’re e-mailing, please put a clear topic in the subject line, such as “Please Support SB 1712 – Ag Economic Development”. That way your elected official can know at a glance the position you favor.

Tell your elected officials what effect you think a particular bill, if it becomes law, will have on you, your children, business, or community. Be concise, but specific.

Always include where you are from and a bit about yourself to make it personal.

Be polite, even if you disagree strongly with the elected official you are addressing. Lawmakers cannot please everyone. Your communication will be more effective if you are reasonable in your approach.

Offer assistance. Don’t make promises or threats.

Get to know your elected officials and their office staffs. Be willing to work with their aides and establish relationships with them as well as with the lawmakers.

When planning to visit your elected officials, make an appointment. Call or write for an appointment as soon as you know when you are going to be at the capitol.

Plan your call or visit carefully. Keep to the point and don’t wander too far off topic. You’ll have a limited amount of time so organize your thoughts ahead of time and make notes to help you stay on track.

Prepare a one-page fact sheet concerning your issue to give to your legislator. This will help him or her better retain what you present. Ask FFBF staff to assist you. They will typically have this kind of thing prepared for you.

What is FBACT?

The Florida Farm Bureau FBACT grassroots program was established to protect and further agricultural interests through the active participation of Farm Bureau members in government relations activities at the federal, state and local levels.

Advocacy is a powerful – and necessary – tool for implementing Farm Bureau policy at the federal and state levels. Without Farm Bureau grassroots advocates taking action agriculture may not have a voice in Congress. Being an FBACT member means being willing to speak up, speak out and implement your policies. It means being willing to take action and to be “a Voice of Agriculture.” Communicating with lawmakers –through meetings, phone calls, e-mails, etc. – is one major way FBACT members may exercise their constitutional right to speak out.

How does it work?

Farm Bureau members who have provided us with their email address will receive legislative updates and “FBACT Alerts” via e-mail. When an alert is sent, you will be directed to our Legislative Action Center page where you will complete several easy steps and your message will be sent directly to your elected official. Talking points and/or sample letters included in the alerts will help make this process quick, simple and effective.

How do I get involved?

Please visit the Legislative Action Center and sign up to receive email alerts from us. You will stay up to date with the current legislative action at the state and federal level and receive action alerts when they come out.

Questions? Contact our Legislative Affairs team in Tallahassee at 850.222.2557.