Module 2. Lesson 1.

Core Values of
Nutrition Workers-2
After completing Lesson 1, you should
be able to:
1. explain the meaning of values;
2. enumerate the core values a
nutrition worker should possess; and
3. give specific examples applying the
core values of a nutrition worker.

CORE VALUES

The core values that nutrition workers

should possess is called

implies that when you InTEEERAct, you

deliver your services professionally and
with pride that leaves a lasting
impression on your intended audiences.
Not only that, it will also encourage
people to communicate with you
regarding their nutritional needs without
fear, anxiety, or apprehension.

Traits are characteristics of

demonstrable knowledge, skill, and
attitude which can attribute to the
effective performance of roles and
functions of nutrition workers.
 Leadership, therefore, is a relationship
and a process. As a relationship, a
leader has to have followers. Successful
leaders are said to be those who can
motivate and inspire followers to
perform better to achieve their goals as
a group or an organization.

Leadership as a process not only

involves the leader but also the
followers and the situations. Different
followers and situations need different
leadership styles. For you to better
Nutrition workers should strive to
understand the leadership process, look
possess all the 22 traits, and together
at the figure below, which presents the
with the core values, apply them in
leadership linkages of the Barangay
different situations. Furthermore,
Nutrition Scholar Program.
nutrition workers should always be W-I-
S-E: Willing to Innovate, Strategize, and The figure below shows the flow of
Experiment! supervision/leadership at different
administrative levels from the national to
the barangay, and from the Provincial
Module 2. Lesson 2. Leadership Skills of
Nutrition Committee (PNC) to
Nutrition Workers-2 City/Municipal Nutrition Committee
(C/MNC) to the Barangay Nutrition
After completing Lesson 2, you should Committee (BNC)
be able to:
1. describe leadership; The Nutrition Action Officers (NAOs) are
2. identify the characteristics of a supervised administratively by their local
leader; and chief executive (LCE) and technically by
3. articulate the strategies that hone the nutrition worker occupying the next
the leadership potential of nutrition higher position, e.g. Provincial Nutrition
workers. Action Officer (PNAO) supervising the
Municipal Nutrition Action Officer
THE MEANING OF LEADERSHIP (MNAO).
Leadership is described as a “process In this context, the NAOs are followers.
whereby an individual or the leader On the other hand, as NAOs, they
influences a group of individuals to supervise the nutrition workers
achieve a common goal (Northouse, occupying the next lower position. This
1997).” It is a relationship with followers time they are leaders. Thus, as NAOs,
and making them change.
they are actually performing both the Incompetent – lack the will or skill (or
roles of a leader and a follower. both) to sustain effective action and not

create positive change

Inflexible – unable or unwilling to adapt

to new ideas, new information, or
changing times

Hot-tempered – lacks self-control,

irritable, and moody

Callous – uncaring or unkind; ignores

the needs, wants, and wishes of most
members of the group or organization
especially subordinates

Corrupt – lies, cheats, or steals

Characteristics of a Leader

A nutrition worker has a special type of

leading spelled as Leadersheep. The STRATEGIES TO HONE LEADERSHIP
term highlights the four “e’s” which stand POTENTIAL
for the characteristics of a good leader
Being a leader is not easy. Do you
remember the adage “a good leader is a
good follower?” This motto is very true
for a nutrition worker. Analyze the
leadership process presented in Figure
2.6. These are important key points that
you should follow by heart:

Lead yourself. To be a leader means to

lead oneself first by practicing self-
Bad leadership, on the other hand, awareness (knowing and understanding
refers to a leadership style that is yourself). You have to “walk the talk”
ineffective/fails to produce the desired meaning you have to do what you teach
change (e.g. improvement of nutritional and act. A nutrition leader should
status) and is unethical/fails to continue to educate oneself and provide
distinguish between right and wrong changes for the benefit of the people
(e.g. absenteeism, corruption). and the organization.

Some characteristics of a bad leader Lead the people. The basic concept for
that you should NEVER possess: leading and growing your people is
followership. The key is how to make
people follow you happily. Leading the MEANING AND PROCESS OF
people is coupled with initiative, self- COMMUNICATION
confidence, and responsibility, which
Communication is the glue that binds
should provide feedback and inputs for
an organization. Its role is very crucial in
self-awareness.
the work of nutrition workers or
Lead the organization. Leading the advocates because one cannot avoid
organization involves visioning and not communicating.
strategizing, risk-taking, and example
Communication is a two-way process
set which should also provide feedback
wherein the message in the form of
and inputs as bases for leading the
ideas, thoughts, feelings, opinions are
people and oneself.
transmitted between two or more
persons with the intent of creating a
shared understanding. Simply, an act of
conveying intended information and
understanding from one person to
another is called as communication. The
term communication is derived from the
Latin word “Communis” which means to
share. Effective communication is when
the message conveyed by the sender is
understood by the receiver in exactly the
same way as it was intended.
After completing Lesson 3, you should
be able to: Communication is a symbolic,
transactional process of creating and
1. discuss the meaning of
coordinating meanings that involve both
communication;
verbal and non-verbal codes within a
2. enumerate ways to develop given communicative act. The interplay
presentation skills; of verbal and non-verbal cues makes
the communication process even more
3. demonstrate effective ways to
complex!
deliver messages to a group of people;
McEwin and Santow (2018) (as cited at
4. define advocacy within the context
McLeod, 2018) forward that the major
of nutrition;
means of communication are speaking,
5. enumerate the importance of and listening, reading, and writing. Much
the elements of advocacy in relation to more, there are other forms of
local nutrition program; and communication such as sign languages,
online audio/video communication or
6. discuss the guideposts in conducting
advocacy program/campaign.
non-verbal modes such as crying and ensure that there are no grammatical
touching. and spelling mistakes. Also, the
message should be exact and well-
Thus, effective communication cannot
timed. Correct messages have a greater
be guaranteed because people have
impact on the receiver and at the same
different capacities that may not have
time, the morale of the sender increases
the facility to communicate normally and
with the accurate message.
meanings are in people, which could be
influenced by their culture. Complete: The message should include
all the relevant information as required
7 C's of Communication
by the intended audience. The complete
The 7 C’s of Communication is a information gives answers to all the
checklist that helps to improve questions of the receiver and helps in
professional communication skills and better decision-making by the recipient.
increases the chance that the message
Concrete: All the facts and figures
will be understood in exactly the same
should be clearly mentioned in a
way as it was intended.
message so as to substantiate whatever
To have effective communication, one the sender is saying. This means that
should keep the following 7 C’s of there is no room left for
communication in mind: misinterpretation.

Concise: The message should be

precise and to the point. The sender
should avoid lengthy sentences and try
to convey the subject matter in the least
possible words. A short and brief
message is more comprehensive and
helps in retaining the receiver’s
attention.

Consideration: The sender must take

Clear: The message should be easily
into consideration the receiver’s
understandable to the recipient.
opinions, knowledge, mindset,
Communication is clear when the
background, etc. in order to have
message received is the same as the
effective communication. In order to
message sent by the sender. The
communicate, the sender must relate to
message should emphasize a single
the target recipient and be involved.
goal at a time and shall not cover
several ideas in a single sentence. Courteous: It implies that the sender
must take into consideration both the
Correct: The message should use the
feelings and viewpoints of the receiver
correct language, and the sender must
such that the message is positive and
focused on the audience. The message Sender: The sender or the
should not be biased and must include communicator is the person who
terms that show respect for the initiates the conversation and has
recipient. conceptualized the idea that he intends
to convey to others.
Take note that this checklist applies to
both written and oral communication. Encoding: The sender begins with the
encoding process wherein he uses
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION AND
certain words or non-verbal methods
EXAMPLES
such as symbols, signs, body gestures,
Oral communication uses spoken etc. to translate the information into a
words to translate messages directly message. The sender’s knowledge,
(face–to–face or telephone skills, perception, background,
conversation, group meeting, seminar, competencies, etc. have a great impact
conference, symposium, presentation, on the success of the message.
interview) or broadcast media (radio,
Message: Once the encoding is
television, etc.).
finished, the sender gets the message
Written communication uses printed that he intends to convey. The message
materials (letters, books, flyers, reports, can be written, oral, symbolic, or non-
newspapers, magazines, billboards); verbal such as body gestures, silence,
computerized messages (email, signs, sounds, etc., or any other signal
websites, blogs, and interactive that triggers the response of a receiver.
websites); research paper; fax; circulars,
Communication Channel: The Sender
SMS (text) messages; and press
chooses the medium through which he
releases to deliver messages.
wants to convey his message to the
Non-verbal communication includes recipient. It must be selected carefully in
signs or symbols or body language. order to make the message effective
and correctly interpreted by the
COMMUNICATION PROCESS recipient. The choice of medium
Communication is a dynamic process depends on the interpersonal
that begins with the conceptualizing of relationships between the sender and
ideas by the sender who then transmits the receiver and on the urgency of the
the message through a channel to the message being sent. Oral, virtual,
receiver, who in turn gives the feedback written sound, gesture, etc. are some of
in the form of some message or signal the commonly used communication
within the given time frame. mediums.

Thus, there are seven major elements of Receiver: The receiver is the person for
the communication process: whom the message is intended or
targeted. He tries to comprehend it in
the best possible manner such that the
communication objective is attained.
The degree to which the receiver
decodes the message depends on his
knowledge of the subject matter,
experience, trust, and relationship with
the sender.

Decoding: Here, the receiver interprets

the sender’s message and tries to A broad definition of noise in
understand it in the best possible communication is something that keeps
manner. Effective communication a receiver from completely
occurs only if the receiver understands comprehending a message. Noise
the message in exactly the same way as comes in many forms. Distractions can
it was intended by the sender. inhibit a person from offering his
Feedback: Feedback is the final step of undivided attention and may keep him
the process that ensures the receiver from fully grasping what you are trying
has received the message and to say. These disturbances guarantee
interpreted it correctly as it was intended that the receiver will either misinterpret
by the sender. It increases the your information or not understand it at
effectiveness of the communication as it all.
permits the sender to know the efficacy Physical noise. Sometimes the biggest
of his message. The response of the impediment to clear communication is
receiver can be verbal or non-verbal. everyday environmental noise. This can
include loud passersby, music (think
talking over a band at a concert), traffic,
or children playing. Even a simple
phone ringing can distract a listener so
that he/she cannot fully focus on a
conversation. Annoying whispering and
classroom sidebar conversations can
interfere with the ability of the instructor
and other students to focus on the
NOISE IN COMMUNICATION material during a lecture. Other physical
conditions that can hinder
The noise shows the barriers in communication are physical illness,
communications. There are chances hearing impairments, being under the
when the message sent by the sender is influence of drugs or alcohol, or being
not received by the recipient. tired.
Semantic noise affects communication occur due to the physical condition of
when people communicate from either the sender or receiver which
different playing fields. For example, a might even be physical disabilities. It
patient without knowledge of medical includes sensory dysfunction and other
terminology may have no idea what the physical dysfunctions (Bajracharya,
doctor is saying. In other words, they 2018).
are working from different
Physiological barriers to communication
understandings, such as different
are related to the limitations of the
vocabularies, primary languages, or
human body and the human mind
dialects. Noise can also occur when
(memory, attention, and perception).
pedantic vocabulary or regional
Physiological barriers may result from
colloquialisms break down
individuals’ personal discomfort, caused
communication. Cross-cultural
by ill-health, poor eyesight, or hearing
communication noise can include
difficulties (Agrieconomics, ND).
mistaken interpretations of voice tone,
eye contact, and body language. ORAL PRESENTATION SKILLS
Illegible handwriting and using slang can
also be semantic noises that complicate Your greatest skill required is how to
effective communication. present your message orally.
Presentation is a practice of showing
Psychological noise can be more and explaining the content of a topic to
difficult to define in a particular situation, an audience or learner.
as the mental makeup of every person
is different. This type of noise includes An effective presentation not only relies
concepts like prejudices, narrow- on well-planned and well-structured
mindedness, and personal bias. presentation materials but also on good
Communication can also be difficult if a delivery of the presentation.
person is feeling very emotional -- There are two steps in doing a
anger, sadness, and even joy can affect presentation, namely:
how much someone can pay attention
during a conversation. Individuals with a. Conceptualizing and preparing the
psychological problems such as severe presentation; and
mental illness may have trouble
b. Actual delivery of the presentation
understanding others or communicating
their own thoughts. Tips on oral presentation

Physiological noise is a distraction There are some guidelines before doing

caused by hunger, fatigue, headaches, your oral presentation. The first mantra
medication, and other factors that affect in communication is KNOW YOUR
how we feel and think (Nordquist, 2019). AUDIENCE! What is their knowledge
Physiological barriers of communication about what you are going to talk about?
What is their literacy level? What dialect more effective than listening to and
do they speak? What do they eat? viewing your presentation before it is
said to an audience. Corrections can
Knowing these characteristics prior to
easily be done. No corrections should
the presentation can build rapport and
be made during the presentation.
would make your audience comfortable
when listening and participating in your Lastly, PROVIDE APPROPRIATE
presentation. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. It is more
appropriate to acknowledge people at
Second, DESIGN MESSAGES to suit
the beginning or at the point of their
your intended audience using the AIDA
contributions so that their contribution is
model.
made clear to the audience. Take note
Third, PRACTICE AND TIME YOUR that people love to be acknowledged for
PRESENTATION. Prepare the their contributions.
presentation based on the ALLOTTED
As a general rule, visual aids should be
TIME. Even if there is a time limit, you
simple and clear. A 50:50 ratio of visual
should be able to maximize the time to
and text is recommended. Most of all,
be able to get your key message across.
practice in front of the mirror before the
Practice your presentation. The more
actual oral presentation.
you practice your presentation, the less
likely you will go off from the key There are instances though where you
messages. will be asked to do an impromptu
presentation by the LCE or a media
Fourth, prepare your VISUAL AIDS
person may ask for an interview. Do not
according to the purpose of your
panic!
presentation. Before doing the visual
aids, check the facilities in the barangay.
However, regardless of what visual
materials you are going to use, what is
important is your ability to communicate
effectively the ideas to your audience.
Use your visuals sparingly but
effectively. A rule of thumb is if you have
more than one visual for each minute
that you are talking, you have too many
already and you will run overtime. Avoid Tips for Impromptu Presentations
reading the visuals unless you want to
An impromptu speech is a talk that you
emphasize a point explicitly. Remember
give on the spot with no preparation. In
that the audience can read too!
doing on-the-spot oral presentations,
Fifth, REVIEW YOUR here are some tips:
PRESENTATION. There is nothing
1. Know your audience; ask about the act or influence decisions on specific
background and interest of the audience nutrition concerns.
before going through the presentation.
Advocacy aims to catalyze processes to
2. Know by heart the recent nutrition achieve nutrition goals and objectives. It
facts like results of OPT, existing is geared towards drawing support and
programs, and plans on nutrition in the building commitments in terms of
LGU. Study the information from time to developing new or changing existing
time. policies, programs, and projects with
direct or indirect impact on nutrition, as
3. Prepare handy visual aids ahead of
well as in increased resource allocation
time, which you could bring during
for nutrition programs and activities.
impromptu meetings.
Nutrition advocacy targets national or
4. Highlight important information,
local policymakers and decision-makers
which the audience needs to know.
from both the public and private sectors.
Keep the message brief, clear, and
Local institutions can be mobilized to
simple.
support nutrition improvement initiatives
5. Use conclusion of the impromptu through increased financial investments.
presentation to:
Moreover, the media can be mobilized
a. reiterate your main theme; to assist in public nutrition information
and education as well as in resource
b. convey a tone of optimism; and generation and mobilization. In other
c. offer a final challenge or words, you get champions to support
recommendation. your nutrition interventions.

6. Practice can develop the ability to do Nutrition advocacy can be done either
a structured or impromptu presentation. by one-on-one or through group
consultations with local chief executives;
7. Good communication skills and dialogues and seminars; rallies, and
proper grooming are also foundations of news-making events such as launching
an effective presentation. and awarding ceremonies, news
coverage, and endorsements from
While a nutrition worker is equipped with
public figures.
good communication skills, such quality
should be used to promote nutrition It is crucial that nutrition interventions be
advocacy. translated into policies for smoother
implementation. Local ordinances aptly
NUTRITION ADVOCACY
support your programs.
Advocacy in the context of nutrition
Importance of nutrition advocacy
involves convincing or persuading
individuals, groups, and organizations to
Why is it important to have advocates who have control over resources (LCE,
for nutrition? This is because you cannot members of the Sangguniang
work alone. For your interventions to be Panlalawigan or Sangguniang Bayan).
successful, you have to:
2. Behavior – expected view or action
1. Bring to stakeholders’ recognition of the audience regarding the issue.
the importance of achieving nutrition
3. Channel – what medium to use for
improvement in relation to local and
advocacy (pictures, video, social media,
national development and realization of
telephone, SMS, letters, email, Twitter,
the right to adequate nutrition;
testimonials,
2. Highlight the role of local chief
pamphlets, and field visits);
executives in the management of
nutrition programs and projects; 4. Design – how the advocacy
campaign will be delivered (e.g., one-
3. Advocate nutrition as an enabling
on-one meeting) considering the
mechanism in support of policies to
content;
address the problem of hunger and
malnutrition; and 5. Evaluation – what is the result of
advocacy (with action, without action)
4. Serve as a mechanism to establish
linkages among different stakeholders to Guideposts in conducting advocacy
increase support and efficiency of
nutrition programs. There are steps to follow on how to
conduct your nutrition advocacy. These
Elements of nutrition advocacy are:

1. Begin by acknowledging the

decision-maker for any past support on
nutrition. Point out areas of agreement
and mutual interest.

2. Know and clarify the views of the

decision-makers regarding nutrition
concerns. Listen to what your audience
thinks. Remember that your audience is
Advocacy, like communication, is the LCE.
composed of elements. In relation to the 3. Have a better grasp of the issue
Local Nutrition Program, these elements than the decision-maker or LCE. Gain a
come with the acronym, ABCDE (Figure reputation for being knowledgeable but
2.13) which stand for: do not confuse the decision-maker with
1. Audience – the target of advocacy too many messages or information and
are policy or decision-makers or those
technical terms or jargon. Moreover, do 3. prepare a simple report.
not give false or misleading information.
It is the duty of a nutrition worker to
4. Link your objective to an issue the keep track of changes before and after
decision-maker cares about. an intervention. The work is like an
experiment most of the time. Nutrition
5. Negotiate but be clear about how far
workers need to measure before and
you will compromise.
after conditions to provide evidence
6. When doing advocacy as a group, whether the change in the nutritional
decide on who will be responsible for status of a community could be
each step or action. attributed to the nutrition interventions.

7. End by summarizing what the This can be done faithfully by being

decision-maker has committed and equipped with documentation and
agreed on the next steps. writing skills. Documentation will not
only give you a record of what
Elevator pitch transpired but will also help you in
An elevator pitch – also known as an monitoring the progress of projects.
elevator speech – is a quick synopsis of DOCUMENTATION SKILLS
your background and experience. This
speech is all about you: who you are, Documentation is one of the vital roles
what you do, and what you want to do. of a nutrition worker. When crucial
The reason it is called an elevator pitch information is not properly documented
is that it should be short enough to and given attention, it will soon be
present during a brief elevator ride. A forgotten. Good quality documentation is
good elevator pitch runs for only 30 essential as it can be used to inform and
seconds. influence others and serves as a
reference for decision-making.
Module 2. Lesson 4. Documentation,
As frontline personnel in advocating
Record Keeping and Writing Skills of
local nutrition activities, any local
Nutrition Workers-2
nutrition worker should develop the habit
of taking down notes and documenting
After completing Lesson 4, you should
activities.
be able to:
Essential information regarding the
1. explain the importance of
LGUs’ nutrition situation always comes
documentation, record keeping, and
from their end, and it is crucial that the
report writing in carrying out the
data are properly documented and
functions of a nutrition worker;
reported.
2. identify steps/methods for effective
Tips in documenting projects and
documentation and record keeping; and
activities
1. Take photos of important activities. A well-written report helps in
Action photos are better than transmitting essential information in the
constructed or posed photos. Take most effective way at the least time.
photos before, during, and after project When done right, report writing is useful
implementation. Do not forget to include and valuable.
captions, dates, and places where the
Nutrition workers need to write reports in
photos were taken.
order to:
2. Prepare minutes of meetings
1. record what is being done to keep
dutifully and promptly. Decisions and
track of failures and successes;
agreements must be captured in the
minutes so that follow-through actions 2. inform the community on the recent
can be done and the people responsible nutrition activities done by the nutrition
will be made accountable. committees;
3. Prepare brief write-ups. The write-up 3. serve as proof for the progress of
contains a brief description of the project projects and activities so that donors
or activity including: would be apprised on the status of their
program support or fund allocation;
a. Objectives;
4. have bases for project monitoring
b. Accomplishments;
and evaluation, and planning of future
c. People involved; actions; and

d. Success factors and challenges; and 5. document the impact of projects and
activities.
e. Recommendations for future
implementation. A well-written report should also contain
the following parts:
Documentation reports like highlights of
meetings, a brief write-up of activities, 1. Title of the report, period covered,
and even diaries can be written in the date when the report was written, and
local dialect. the name of the author/writer;

Writing your report 2. A brief but complete description of

the project;
Report writing is another important task
of a nutrition worker. It is a strategy to 3. Highlights of accomplishments;
communicate what has been
a. Key people involved
accomplished and learned in conducting
nutrition activities. It is also necessary b. Description of activities
for maintaining transparency.
c. Results/outcomes of efforts done

d. Problems met and opportunities

4. Conclusions and recommendations The value of record-keeping of activities
and events are as follows:
For the report to serve its purpose, it
must be submitted to or shared with 1. Records tell how the program or
intended users and the highlights of the activity is progressing. Records can tell
report should be presented to key what is happening so that interventions
people, i.e. LCEs, LNC members, local and adjustments can be made before
Sanggunian, NNC, partners, and other something wrong happens;
interested groups.
2. Records make sure that things to be
Records are documented information done are achieved; and
regardless of physical form and are
3. Records can tell users what
created, collected, or received in the
happened. Members of the nutrition
initiation, conduct, or completion of an
committee who review programs
activity.
completed should be able to tell, in
Records also include any detail, what happened by reading
correspondence, memorandum, book, through the
plan, map, drawing, diagram, pictorial or
graphic work, photograph, film, sound
recording, machine-readable record,
and any other documentary material.

Records are used to:

1. provide evidence of an activity;

2. support decision making;

3. support the delivery of programs and

services; and

4. demonstrate the accountability of an

institution.

Record keeping is a systematic

procedure where records are created,
captured, maintained, and disposed of.
It ensures the preservation of data for
evidential purposes, accurate, and
efficient updating, timely availability, and
control of access LNC members can
use.