Know Your Audience.
Do you know your audience? Really? Who are the key people you want to persuade? Have you had casual conversation to assess their temperature before rolling out your message? Have you investigated their needs? Do you know the condition of their personal lives? All of these questions and more are critical to being an effective communicator.
Haven’t you been on the receiving end of an ill-researched message that you either did not or would not receive? How about the business owner who, due to tough economic times, has to cut his employees pay and a few days later asks his employees for donations to a pet charity. Consider an employee whose boss asks her to take on greater responsibility and work extra hours without considering that she is going through a divorce and dealing with a serious physical situation. In each case, the one who had something to say did not know the needs and condition of their audience. Not only did they not achieve their objective, but their insensitivity likely damaged his audience.
Before we communicate, we must do the work necessary to know our audience. Test the water first by talking over your message with someone you trust. They may have insight to some of the sensitivities of the audience.
"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." George Bernard Shaw
