Trainer Tip Tuesday # 3 - Know Your Audience
- Instructor Dave
- Sep 24, 2019
- 2 min read
“Know Your Audience”
Knowing your audience is a critical skill that is applicable to trainers, instructional designers, and learning professionals from all walks of life.
By knowing your audience, you can cater your message to be one that creates engagement and discussion or causes confusion and boredom. Knowing who your audience is will help you deliver a more impactful message or craft more meaningful training.
To further expand upon this, take a look at the message you are delivering in your training. Are you going to use the same word choices, cadence, and candor for the front-facing employee as you would with the CEO? No. What if you were standing in a room full of technical experts in a formal session versus an informal session of only a few colleagues? No, you are going to craft and refine that message so it applies to the audience it is being delivered to.
Knowing how to speak to your audience is a critical skill that can be transferred beyond the classroom, and instructional design toolbox - to every conversation and interaction that you would have.
If you are having trouble getting someone to see things from your perspective, present the information in a way that your audience would better understand. Of course, this can tie in all sorts of communication and personality profiles, but fundamentally, look at who your audience is and speak to them accordingly.
Communication skills are the bread and butter of the trainer, instructional design, and learning professional. Knowing your audience may require some preparation before class, and possibly during the design and development of your learning material. But, the results are worth it. You will establish credibility, create engagement, and have a more meaningful session.
Knowing your audience helps you craft a better message.
What are some of the things you do to know your audience?
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