Erin McNair poses in her FFA Official Dress.
Public speaking may be known as the No. 1 worldwide fear, but Tioga FFA member Erin McNair sees this as a challenge. She has always had a calling for the spotlight and plans to pursue this passion in the future. Until then, she plans to enhance her communication and speaking skills through the many opportunities FFA offers.
This year, McNair decided to participate in the Prepared Public Speaking Leadership Development Event competition hosted by the Stanislaus-Tuolumne FFA Section in California; she is the first Tioga FFA member to compete in it. McNair says she spent far too long deciding what her speech should be about but settled on agricultural literacy.
“Picking a speech topic is much more complicated than anyone thinks,” she says. “I spent most of my preparation time deciding what to speak about rather than actually developing my speech. However, once I stumbled across the topic of agricultural literacy, I knew exactly what I wanted to speak about.”
Agricultural literacy refers to someone’s knowledge about where food comes from, who grows it and its effects on the economy. McNair highlights the characteristics of someone with strong agricultural literacy throughout her speech, using her younger self as an example.
The speech also details the absence of agricultural literacy and what’s being done to solve this issue. McNair uses sources, including the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture and the Ag Innovation Multistate Agricultural Literacy Research Project, to develop her ideas and persuade her audience.
When asked why she chose this topic, McNair mentioned her passion for spreading the importance of agriculture. “I come from a background with little to no agricultural involvement,” she says. “I had absolutely no idea what agriculture was, nor its significance to the economy. After joining 4-H and FFA, I began to understand the importance of agriculture, and I can’t imagine my life without it. I now take it upon myself to educate the public about becoming more aware.”
In addition to what’s mentioned above, McNair’s speech also includes a detailed explanation of the disinterest toward agricultural education programs and what’s being done to change that. The speech contains a thoughtful analysis of agricultural literacy in the U.S. and how we, as a country, can move forward and create an educational system that supports agriculture.
McNair presented the speech earlier this year in front of the Stanislaus-Tuolumne Section judging panel and received third place. “I was honestly not expecting to place third, especially because I was the first Tioga FFA member to compete in such a competition,” she says. “Although I didn’t place at the Central Region speaking competition, I was still proud of myself for advancing that far.”
McNair’s not done sharing her love for agriculture. She plans to participate in another speaking competition next year, where she’ll express the countless benefits FFA offers to students who experience a fear of public speaking.
