Audience Analysis (part 2): The late, great PT Barnum said when asked of his success with audiences, “Give ‘em what they want.” Yet, isn’t it amazing how rarely that seems to happen? How often do you come out of a movie thinking, “Hmmm…they had such a great opportunity there and they blew it!” Or what about when buying a big item. Doesn’t buying a car really stink? You know what you want, you’ve researched a fair price, but you still have to spend agonizing hours with a salesperson (and their manager) trying to “get you” into a car that day…they don’t give you what you want.
But on a level more close to home for me, why is it so hard for communicators to figure out this principle. I realize there are times when a persuasive argument is actually in opposition to this belief. A lawyer doesn’t always give the audience what they “want” – but rather tries to give them what they “need” according to their client. But, the majority of speakers in business and in general should find ways to live by this principle. Unfortunately, they don’t. What gets in the way? Ego? Naivety? Ignorance? Let’s see if I can give you a few suggestions about when and how to give an audience the right stuff…
Make it timely – I’ve been traveling a lot this past week. And as I’ve spoken to over 200 faculty in various sessions across the USA, I’ve heard a LOT of comments about the Olympics. Everybody is blown away by Michael Phelps, the Redeem Team has some great buzz, and women’s gymnastics has certainly caught their attention. But more than any of those things, I hear about how annoyed everyone is with NBC’s coverage. They can’t figure out why events that took place 12 hours earlier aren’t shown in a timely fashion. NBC chooses to show puff pieces on the stories of athletes from other countries during prime time, only to show medal races and matches long after most people go to bed. And fans are frustrated!
This definitely applies to speakers and communication events. Don’t waste everyone’s time with fluff, hoping they’ll stick with you until the end when the “good stuff” comes out. Get to it! Consider Primacy and Recency as you put together your presentation. Yes, you should probably end with your best stuff. BUT, your SECOND best stuff should likely come first! And by all means, don’t waste people’s time with stuff that doesn’t matter anyway! If you can’t figure out whether or not a group will care about something, do some research. Create a focus group of audience members ahead of time and run the ideas past them. Always remember this important concept: the audience’s time is MORE valuable than yours.
Leave your interests at the door – Have you been to a conference lately? Does it amaze you how bad 90% of conference speakers are? It astounds me. In fact, I’ve gone to several conferences for Speech Communication teachers in my lifetime…wow, they’re the worst. Not only is the delivery beyond poor, the speaker could care less about what interests the audience. It seems they would rather share what interests them. What’s amusing to me is that you can even hear participants who are speaking later in the conference complain mightily about this concept. Yet, when it’s their turn to speak, nothing changes!
So what interests an audience? Practical application of concepts is the key. Your research is great and there are probably five or six other people in the world that will really enjoy hearing about it. (Have them over for dinner!) But, most people want the “so what” to be talked about. How does your research matter to the crowd sitting before you? What will they do as a result? What SHOULD they change in their lives because of your findings? What are the ramifications?
Information isn’t a filler – Ever been to a company meeting? Two slides into the presentation aren’t you wondering if you can get away with opening your laptop and checking some email? Unfortunately, it seems that a lot of leaders don’t really get what’s important to the employees, instead creating a presentation of facts and figures that are (or possibly aren’t) meaningful to a select few executives.
What’s important to an audience of employees? I hope you don’t need me to tell you this, but here is a short list. Money – how much will I make this year, next year, and the year after that? Will I get a bonus? Benefits – is cost going up or down, will it be easier to take care of myself or my family, etc.? Competition – how do we stack up against other companies doing what we do? Are we “winning” as a collective? Vision – where is our company going? Where do you, leader, see us in 12 months? What initiatives are we / you taking? Contribution – how are you finding ways to listen to me? How can my ideas help the company, help my division, or help me?
The old way isn’t the right way – If you read this blog, you know that I’m getting my doctorate in Education Leadership. So, both as a student and consultant speaking to teachers and administrators most of my time, I have a pretty immersed perspective on how teaching happens. And it pains me to say that 8 times out of 10, it isn’t good. Yes, there are some amazing teachers out there – Instructors who put time, energy, and creativity into lessons – Faculty who make an effort to teach application as much as theory…but the percentage is way too low. They don’t seem to consider what their audience wants (and needs).
So what do students want / need? I actually have a 90 minute keynote address dedicated to this. But in the short space I have left, how’s this? Students need authentic assessment, realistic tasks, a place to fail, a place to succeed, multi-nodal learning, multi-modal teaching, immediacy, context, resource understanding, leadership, technology integration, innovation, creativity, humor, constructive criticism, appropriate praise, paradigm creation, paradigm change, and enough sleep…to name a few.
It’s time to take notice of your audience if you haven’t been. We all have perceptions of our message and ourselves. However, it’s our job to get the audience to buy into that perspective for themselves by applying concepts and information that uses what the audience wants to see and hear. It’s certainly tricky but it’s also as valuable as any speaking “trick” you can get. Give the audience what they want and you WILL be successful.
Want to learn more about your audience? Trying to find a way to connect better with employees, students, or colleagues? Contact jborden@jeffpresents.com for more information!
