Developing Audience Benefits

Developing Audience Benefits is what's going to keep the audience engaged in what you are communicating.  When having an audience it is important to:

• Not have an "I/we" focus and turning it into more of a  "you view" this will help in creating value in their thoughts and opinions. 
• Being professional in your conversations - Use more conversational/formal diction to come across more educated and mature.
• Be positive - no ones wants to get behind a Negative Nancy, if that's the direction your going, it's a one way ticket to no where. Although you are not going to be able to only communicate positive messages all the time, try putting a positive spin on a negative message.
• Be courteous, not everyone is going to share your opinion all the time so even if you are being challenged make sure you are handling it class and use courteous language.
• Use bias-free language that is appropriate for everyone, ensure that it is not biased  so that you are not stereotyping, excluding or offending people.  I think the best way of doing this is to not use biases when referring to things such as: gender, race, age or disability.
• Use plain language, although you may think it makes you sound more intelligent your message may get lost in translation.  Use familiar vocabulary that appeals to all audiences.
• Using strong verbs and nouns provides more information and keeps people tuned in, use your thesaurus if you get stuck.

What are some of your suggests to capture an audience, please let us know your "tricks of the trade" when it comes to addressing your colleagues and peers? 

Persuasive Messages Based on Your Audience

I know once I figure out the purpose of my message I now have to determine how I am going to deliver my message. I know for myself I am "a sensing", I need time to process what I receive step by step.  I like to know that the thought process have been thought through from A through Z and that the conclusion is based on the facts and not spur of the moment or a "band-aid" fix.  Do you know where you fall as an audience participant?  Being able to identify your own style and the styles around you will help you with better communication as not everything processes information the same.  The reality is that companies are not looking for like-minded people, companies want that diverse thought process, as that's how they are able to move forward successfully.

Messaging - Consider the PAIBOC Questions

Before you write that communication, you may want to start by considering the PAIBOC questions to identify the Purpose, your Audience, the Information, Benefits, any Objections or the Context that you will be using to get you started.

Why Your Audience is Important

Now that you know who your audience is now we can discuss why an audience is so important.  As previously discussed being able to determine what your audience wants and expectations are will be able to provide you with the tools at having a communicating process that’s going to impact.  We communicate constantly and our audiences translate our meanings, word, volume, posture, volume, wardrobe that we use as symbols and these symbols are deliberately and inadvertently perceived according to the audience’s culture, sub-culture, age, gender, intelligence and personal experiences.

Examples of different audience and perception are below.

Source: Based on Vincent J. Brown, “Facing Multiple Audiences in Engineering and R&D Writing: The Social Context of a Technical

Report,” Journal of Technical Writing and Communication 24, no. 1 (1994): 67–75.

During the communication process, the sender and the receiver build meaning together.  True understanding happens with all parties harmonize on the meaning and importance of the symbols that they are using.  So it is essential to determine your words, and then how are you going to establish what is the best way to communicate your message.  ie. E-mail, face-to-face, memo, letter

Adapting Your Messaging to Your Audience

I am starting this blog as an opportunity to share the information that I have learned over my career that I feel may benefit you.  Learning how to adapt your messaging to anyone receiving it is an invaluable skill and can benefit you not only professionally but also personally.  In life you don’t always get to choose your boss, co-workers, neighbors, coaches or even the cashier at the grocery store.  What you do have control over is how you choose to communicate with these various types of people and how you can tailor your messages to all levels of audiences you are communicating with.  Miscommunication happens often because in this diverse environment we interpret information differently, we based meanings on high and low context based on our culture or draw on personal experiences. 

First things first, understanding there are 5 kinds of audiences out there is an important first step. Having an understanding of what your audience expectations are and being able to adapt your messaging increases your opportunity of communicating effectively. 

1.       Your initial audience – the first people that are receiving your message and passing it along to others.

2.       The gatekeepers – the people with the ability to stop the message from being received from the primary audience.

3.       Primary audience – the people that choose to take what you say and act on it.

4.       Secondary audience – may be asked for feedback or to act on the recommendations.

5.       The watchdogs – they do not have the ability to stop the message and will not act on it directly, but pay close attention to the interaction between yourself and the primary audience.