Academy Login
The Simple Secret To Engaging With Your Audience
This is a guest blog post from Dominic Colenso, an extremely charismatic individual I had the pleasure of working with a few weeks ago, I hope you enjoy!
No two human beings are the same. We’re all unique. It makes the world a more interesting place. However, it also poses an interesting challenge when communicating with an audience. How do we adapt our message to make sure that it lands with the people we are speaking to. Be it an audience of one or one thousand, over the phone, in person or on social media, to be truly effective communicators we must think of our audience first. As the wonderful Stephen Covey put it, we must “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” So, how does that work in practice?
Learning To Listen
One of the hardest communication skills to learn (and then to perfect) is the art of listening. Most of us want to jump straight in and tell the world about the amazing product or service that we have to offer. Either that or we’re just petrified of silence and want to fill the gap! However the starting point to effective communication is to really listen to our audience. Do a little bit of digging. Ask some questions. Try to find out as much information about the audience you are trying to engage with as possible. A little bit of time spent preparing in advance will pay dividends later. Whether you’re writing a blog post or making a pitch, start to build up a specific picture of your audience members. Armed with this research you can then begin to make some educated guesses and adapt what you say in order to spark their interest and get them to engage with our message.
Putting People In Boxes
We all hate to be stereotyped or categorised however once you have done your research putting your audience into one of four boxes will make communicating with them a whole lot easier. No matter how “rounded” we are, we all have preferences in communication style and at In Flow Training we have created a simple model that allows you to make sure that you get your message across. If you’re familiar with MBTI, Insights or any of the many other jungian-based personality profiling systems then the following may be familiar to you. However, the key is deciding which box your audience (or the majority of your audience) falls into and then tailoring your content so that is resonates with their preferred style.
Know Yourself First
For the sake of simplicity let’s suppose that there are four types of people and that each of those, to greater or lesser degree, leads from one of the following four centres:
The FEET: People that lead from the feet see themselves as decisive. They are very outcome focused and like to get things done as quickly as possible.
The GUT: People that lead from the gut see themselves as creative. They like to be flexible and enjoy generating new ideas and creating alternative options.
The HEART: People that lead from the heart see themselves as “people people”. They like to consider the impact of decisions on everyone involved and work hard to create consensus.
The HEAD: People that lead from the head see themselves as logical. They make decisions based on facts and figures and value analysis over impulse.
Which of the four feels most like you? You’ll be a combination of all of them but try to be specific about which centre you use most. Which style do you go back to when you’re under pressure? Once you’ve identified this, it’s time to start thinking about your audience. Which box do they fall into? Is it the same as you? If so, the language and the style of communication you are using doesn’t really have to change. What you say and how you say it will naturally resonate with your target audience. However, if you think your audience sits predominantly in one of the other three boxes then it’s time to start considering how you might adapt what you say and how you say it to ensure that you really make a connection.
Flex Your Style
Simple changes to how you frame your communication with each type of audience can have a massive impact. If you know you will be talking to an audience that has a mixture of preferences then be sure to include something for everyone. Let’s consider each centre in turn:
The FEET: Be direct. This type of audience will be interested in “deliverables”, “achieving their goals” and “ROI”. They want things done “now” and will demand that there is a “clear sense of direction”. Talk to their “sense of purpose” and their desire to “drive things forward” and you’re bound to “hit the target”.
The GUT: Stay flexible. This type of audience want to “keep things open”. They’re looking for “options” and are interested in “blue sky thinking”. They want “time to explore” and want to “create” the best possible solution. Talk to their “ability to adapt” and their “instinct” and they’ll “rise to the challenge”.
The HEART: Be compassionate. This type of audience is “in touch with their feelings”. They’re interested in “the team” and will look to create a “win, win”. They want to “share ideas” and “encourage collaboration”. Talk to their “understanding of others” and their “brilliant people skills” and you’ll quickly “get them on side”.
The HEAD: Stay logical. This type of audience loves “facts and figures”. They want to “understand the detail” and “conduct the necessary analysis”. Talk to their “clarity of thought” and their “ability to rationalise” and you’ll “convince them of the merits of your proposition.”
Put It To The Test
If you’ve really listened to your audience and taken the time to consider their style and their needs it is really quiet simple. The fact is most people don’t so if you implement this technique you’ll already be streaks ahead of your competition….And remember practice makes perfect. The more you do it, the more natural it will become. What difference could this simple secret make to your business? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments box below.
About The Author
Dominic Colenso is the founder of In Flow Training, a specialist communications training company working with SME’s, StartUps and Entrepreneurs . A former professional actor and teacher at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Dominic and his team of experienced trainers share the techniques and tricks used by the world’s top performers to help their clients communicate with impact, improve their team work and develop their leadership styles.
Image courtesy:
photoraidz at FreeDigitalPhotos.net, cooldesign at FreeDigitalPhotos.net, renjith krishnan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net, atibodyphoto at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
