Much earlier in my creative career, a slighter older boss of mine didn’t know all that much about his job or mine (ya!) but he gave me one nugget of advice that has carried me through my entire adult life. And that was, “Know your audience.” Simply put but so true. I think the “Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight” line is probably what inspired him, but you get the point. So here’s where I’m going with this. Sometimes we all (yes, including me) get so caught up in ourselves, that we lose sight of the image we project or the language we use or the presentation we make to the outside world. I’ll use myself as the first example…
You probably won’t believe me when I tell you this but I am a terrible speller. I have to spellcheck everything I write. Even still I make mistakes that I don’t catch! It’s usually my eagle-eyed Dad who texts in immediately after I publish a blog alerting me to a wordy blunder. I used to feel awful when it happened– Ashamed that I consider myself a writer but that I can’t spell. And that in some way I let my audience down. Until I realized that my thoughts and feelings and how I express them are what really matters to me and hopefully to you. Yes, of course I try to use proper diction and correct spelling. But I definitely take grammatical liberties and so I’m giving myself some latitude on the errors. When they are called to my attention, I do correct them. (Thanks, Dad.) When you find a typo on the menu at the diner, you still order the grilled cheeese, right? Me too. And it doesn’t compromise the taste in any way, right? And it tastes exactly like the grilled cheese, too. Amazing how that happens!
I’ve mentioned before that my day job is in sales. I’ve had a sales role for various companies for more than twenty years. And any good sales gal knows that the most important part of sales is not actually what you’re selling. It is instead to know what your customer needs and then offer that on a silver platter. Ta-da! And then watch them form a bond with you because they feel understood. You’ve been listening and they appreciate that. And hopefully they buy in bulk and keep coming back. But the careful packaging of an idea matters. Names matter. Your delivery matters. Sales requires finesse. I’d never eat chocolate debris, but I do love me some trail mix!
Fitting in is also a key component of blending into your audience. When I look back on my class pictures from elementary school I have to say that I’m completely frightened that parents let their kids walk around in those clothes and with those haircuts! But I guess it was just a sign of the times and everybody looked similar back then with the bug eyed glasses and mullets. Those were the days. Nowadays children are so much more attractive. What a difference.
Another critical time to know and understand your audience is when you’re interviewing for a job. The interviewer wants to see that you fit in due to your skills, competencies, personality, temperament and the overall contributions you’ll make to the firm. But be careful when an out of the box question throws you for a loop!
It’s bound to happen to you at some point in your life that you’re forced to deal with folks that are difficult, loud and opinionated, lazy, late, careless or all of the above. (Thank goodness you’re just a dream, you little ray of sunshine!) And when that happens, take a deep breath and be grateful that you’re kind even if your audience is singing a different tune. But try never to sink to their level. Instead be the force of the rising tide that elevates all boats. So instead of feeling less than stellar about them, give yourself an opportunity to feel good about you!
You don’t always have to be a crowd pleaser, but being attuned to your audience makes you a better, more effective communicator who can pivot based on real time reactions and feedback. So although my old boss didn’t have a great handle on his job or mine, he did know his audience and taught me to know mine.
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