Webinar Recap

Know Your Audience: Strategies for Discussing Pest Management

Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the Weed Diagnostic Center at the University of Tennessee, delivered a webinar filled with concrete information and proven tactics to help turfgrass professionals become better communicators around pesticide use – an issue that, Dr. Brosnan maintains, “is not going away.” While we cannot do his entire message justice in this space, here are a few key take-aways.

Jim Brosnan, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the Weed Diagnostic Center at the University of Tennessee

• As an industry, we have very little training on how to discuss what we do with an audience that is largely uninformed about our profession.

• Typical means of communication are no longer effective. A different approach is needed, and it begins with understanding human nature.

• He cited and recommends the following books:

The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters by Tom Nichols

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Extreme Ownership: How Navy Seals Lead and Win by Jocko Willink

• Knowing that people are risk averse, talk about the risk of NOT managing pests as opposed to the benefits of doing so. Use proactive messaging, for example:

Rather than saying: “We need to spray the field for grubs. The treatment is completely safe and won’t harm the kids at all. Hundreds of research trials have shown this response.”

Try emotionally reframing your message: “If we don’t do something about the insects, kids are going to get hurt. I’m worried kids might injure themselves on weak turf from insect damage.”

• Dr. Brosnan provided specific examples of effective communication techniques such as Mirroring, Tactical Empathy, Accusation Audits and Illusions of Control.

• In conclusion, he challenged the industry to practice communications engagement and become active participants in this ongoing debate.

“ He who has learned to disagree without being disagreeable has discovered the most valuable secret of negotiation.” Robert Estabrook, Former Editor, Washington Post

We are grateful to Dr. Brosnan for sharing these important communication tactics, as well as to our sponsors: Harrell’s, Hart Seed, and Replay.