Audience Strategy
AUDIENCE STRATEGY FOR ALL PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
WHY IS STRATEGY IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IMPORTANT TO YOU? While this particular career-management resource tool, at first, may seem to you unrelated to your “getting the job done,” in fact, the following information ultimately will make the tasks of the job search easier and more effective and will help boost your self-confidence. Communication is the use of language to inform, to persuade, or to change someone. Using an intelligent audience strategy is the key to successful communication, whether in job-search documents, in academic papers, or on-the-job writing and professional presentations. Howard Gardner, author of Leading Minds, says that effective communication is the key to leadership. According to the book, The Guru Guide, CEOs overwhelming say that in managing change “you can never do enough to get your message across to your people.” This translates into employers saying that excellent communication skills are the number one priority on their list of qualifications for a successful candidate. Perhaps, this skill is so highly ranked because we know that communication is the most difficult of all human interactions. In a typical exchange in both formal and informal business interactions, more often than not the message is garbled on both sides: • The speaker, intent on making a point, does not plan or design the message specifically so that the particular audience will absorb the content and act deliberately. • And, generally, the receiver does not listen or read to understand the content of the message but, rather, stays internally focused on personal agendas. You can take control over this seemingly impossible process by learning communication strategy, techniques, and tools. The idea behind an audience-strategy approach is simple: always focus your message on the needs and goals of your audience. The idea may be simple, but the process is complex. Your objective is to inform, to persuade,
WHY IS STRATEGY IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IMPORTANT TO YOU? While this particular career-management resource tool, at first, may seem to you unrelated to your “getting the job done,” in fact, the following information ultimately will make the tasks of the job search easier and more effective and will help boost your self-confidence. Communication is the use of language to inform, to persuade, or to change someone. Using an intelligent audience strategy is the key to successful communication, whether in job-search documents, in academic papers, or on-the-job writing and professional presentations. Howard Gardner, author of Leading Minds, says that effective communication is the key to leadership. According to the book, The Guru Guide, CEOs overwhelming say that in managing change “you can never do enough to get your message across to your people.” This translates into employers saying that excellent communication skills are the number one priority on their list of qualifications for a successful candidate. Perhaps, this skill is so highly ranked because we know that communication is the most difficult of all human interactions. In a typical exchange in both formal and informal business interactions, more often than not the message is garbled on both sides: • The speaker, intent on making a point, does not plan or design the message specifically so that the particular audience will absorb the content and act deliberately. • And, generally, the receiver does not listen or read to understand the content of the message but, rather, stays internally focused on personal agendas. You can take control over this seemingly impossible process by learning communication strategy, techniques, and tools. The idea behind an audience-strategy approach is simple: always focus your message on the needs and goals of your audience. The idea may be simple, but the process is complex. Your objective is to inform, to persuade,