Know the Audience: Five Keys to Effective Communication
By Marc Hill for Domestic Preparedness
Training is an important aspect of the careers of first responders. How that training is delivered will depend a great deal on the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the instructor or speaker. A trainer speaking to new first responders should assume only a basic level of understanding and skill from their audience. The same trainer, speaking to veteran first responders with decades of experience, would deliver a more succinct message with familiar terminology and context. However, the veteran audience hearing the presentation to new responders would receive the message as condescending. Likewise, new responders listening to the message appropriate for veteran professionals would be unable to follow along.
As this key difference demonstrates, it is essential to understand the intended audience. A speaker must understand the complexities and framework of their audience to craft an effective and targeted message. To know an audience, a speaker should consider who they are, what they know or think they know, why they are there, and what needs to be communicated. This information will not just make someone a better communicator. But this information is vital to anyone who wants to deliver a successful message that their audience will understand and remember.
The following are five keys to understanding an audience that I have refined over the past twenty years of public service as an educator, coach, principal, firefighter, engineer, and fire chief in volunteer and career departments.
Generational Differences
I grew up in the 1980s, a Gen Xer, when there was no internet. Computers were expensive and not common in homes. The monitors were shades of green and black. Some wealthy families had video game consoles like Atari, but most kids spent their free time outside, riding bikes, and exploring the neighborhood. Children were expected to be seen, not heard. Supper was at six o’clock, and in my town, a siren sounded in the summer to remind them to head home.
In contrast, modern professionals today consist of many different generations like Y or Z. They barely remember September 11, 2001. They have never known a world without high-speed internet, cell phones, or social media. From 1981, the first year Gen Y was born, to 2012, the last year Gen Z was born, the percentage of children living in single-parent homes increased from 20% to 28%. Many were latchkey kids, accustomed to independence. Their social interactions are often virtual rather than face-to-face, and they prefer texting over phone calls.
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