Real-Life Communication
Even animals get cold. In the park, dogs and even cats wear sweaters to keep warm. But what about larger animals? As an inventor, when you pass by farmyards where cattle and horses are huddled together, you wonder if there is something you could create to help them beat the cold.
By talking to a number of ranchers, you learn that these farm animals do indeed suffer from the cold. On extreme days, they may even lose parts of their ears to frostbite.
You get to work in your basement designing something that might work for the animals to help them battle the cold. During the entire time, you come up with models and designs but don't tell anyone about your secret project.
As the project nears completion and you're happy with the design, it's time to tell others all about it.
"Communication skills are important when you're trying to sell your idea," says inventor Sandy Kahn. "If you're going to get anybody to make the product, you have to prove its use with verbal skills."
She also says good written skills are important. "Writing skills are important when you're writing down patent ideas."
The time has come for you to enter the boardroom full of potential investors who may pitch in money to finance your latest invention. You know that you're going to have to be a smooth talker and give plenty of convincing arguments.
This is the beginning of your presentation:
Nobody would think of taking their dog or their cat out on a cold winter day when the temperatures dip below -22 F. Nobody would think of going outside at all. So why do we see larger farm animals braving the cold on these days?
Is it because they're immune to the cold? By talking to 30 different ranchers in the area, I have found that this isn't the case. Each of these ranchers told me that their animal stock suffers in the extreme cold. For example, one rancher says that in the last year alone, he had 10 newborn calves lose parts of their ears to frostbite. Other ranchers say this is typical for them as well.
A horse breeder says that during the extreme cold, it isn't unusual for a foal to lose part of its ears to the frostbite. This kind of disfigurement is costly in his business. In addition, vet bills for each case add up. Horses already wear blankets in the cold, so why not this new product, animal earmuffs, that I have devised?
My cattle and horse earmuffs are made of top-of-the-line polar fleece. The material offers protection against the cold without affecting hearing. In addition, heavy duty Velcro ensures that the muffs can't fall off. I have tested these on 10 different cattle. And after five days out at pasture, not one pair of muffs fell off. The design is slightly altered to fit over a horse's ears.
This may sound ridiculous to you, but I guarantee that ranchers are interested in this invention. Already, 25 ranchers in our area have expressed interest in purchasing the muffs. They could also be marketed in other rural areas of the country and around the world.
As a final point of interest, the production cost of these muffs is very low, as the materials are readily available and simple to put together.
The potential investors have a few questions about the invention.
- How many ranchers did you talk to in the area?
- What is one of the dangers farm animals, especially newborns, face in the cold weather?
- What are the muffs made of?
- Where do you see potential markets for these earmuffs?