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Volume 1, Number 2 |
June 2007
Back in my advertising days, I learned a fundamental truth about communication:
A message's effectiveness decreases in direct proportion to the number of people that message is addressed to.
In marketing terms, this means that your target is never "women", but "college-educated
women 9 - 49 who live in urban centers"--or better yet, "women who ride mass transit, read the New York Review of Books and enjoy sampling a variety
of single-batch bourbons while taking in an eclectic rotation of live musical and/or theatrical acts." (My kind of gals!)
But in practical terms, how do you reach your audience? When you're sitting down to
create something--a presentation, a podcast, a one-sheet,
etc.--how do you express the idea in a way that connects with your audience?
Speak to an audience of one.
Literally, pick one, specific person you know who could benefit from whatever it is you have to talk about. (I'm
trusting you know a representative sample of humanity, but if your pool is limited, see if you can't get an introduction. Or get out in the world and expand your circle yourself!
Either way, it's important to have a real, live human being you know somewhat to make this work.)
Once you have this person in mind, play around with what you want to say. Ask yourself questions about your
information as it relates to this one
person:
» If I did a perfect job of relaying the information, how would my boss respond? Would she know enough to make a certain decision? Or would she be fired up to go find out more about what you've just introduced her to? To tell someone else what she's just learned?
» How much does my uncle know about this subject already? Can I start in the middle, or do I need to ease into it for him?
Then you can work backwards from the desired result to figure out some "ways in"--how
to communicate in a way that's relevant, meaningful and effective:
» Will Chris respond to stories? Hard data? Images? Zen
koans?
» What are Max's concerns in life? What's his sense of
humor? How can I connect with each of these so my message "lands"?
» Is my sensitive next-door neighbor going to have a
negative reaction if I swear like a drunken sailor?
» Is my 90-year-old grandmother going to be able to read
this if it's printed in 8-point type?
In the end, of course, you're probably speaking to more than one person. But if you
start out with a laser-like focus on one, you're more likely to reach them all. Because not only will you have a real understanding of what your
audience wants and needs, you'll reconnect with what it is about this message that ignites your own passion.
And nothing communicates better than passion...
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