Understanding your Audience is Necessary for Effective Communication
Understanding your audience when communicating is important no matter what the scenario is. Whether you are giving a talk in front of hundreds of people, playing a round of golf with clients, or even every day communicating with friends and family; to be an effective communicator you must understand who your audience is and pertain your message (or presentation of your message) dependent on them. I have learned this concept throughout my collegiate career with multiple, diverse experiences. Shaping my communication style dependent on different audiences and situations has not only made me a better communicator, but also a better leader and more personable.
This new way of thinking started in my Speech 140: Public Communication course during my sophomore year. In this course, my professor had us pick one specific, current issue we were passionate about. Throughout the semester, the class had to present and respond to various prompts on each issue. Each new speech had to come from a different perspective: the first one we had to present as if our audience had no prior understanding of this issue; another was more argumentative based on logic and evidence; the final prompt was to be very persuasive, passionate, and emotional. At the moment, I did not understand why Professor Doxtader had us change our natural presentation style until we were put into different positions where extensive communication skills were necessary.
The very next semester I took Management 250: Professional Communication with Professor Jenkinson. Throughout this course, our weekly assignments included writing professional letters and emails based on a fake scenario, each very different. These were not easy, and getting a decent grade required that you need to configure your message around who your audience was. As showcased in my within-the-classroom Artifact #1 from Management 250, in one scenario we were placed in a supervisor position with the challenge of deciding whether to let go of an employee or not. We then had to properly inform our teammates about the situation. Others were responding to different issues relating to clients of our business and underperforming coworkers; each was uncomfortable and different in audience and nature, so it was necessary you had to change the style of our message. I learned when communicating you must take your self-interest out of the picture, forget what you think is best to say, and start thinking about it from the audience's perspective. After the course, I realized that I could be the smartest, most talented, and most informed person in a specific topic, but if I am not able to properly communicate my knowledge and understanding, it will all go to waste. It is not what you say, it is how you say it.
During my sophomore year, I was truly able to apply what I learned in the classroom to a professional setting, and I saw the benefits of my perspective change. Being a private math tutor is something I enjoyed a lot throughout high school, and I wanted to continue my passion for teaching. At South Carolina, I began to tutor classmates part-time in Calculus, Accounting, and Statistics. As I built up a decent client base, I continued to learn the importance of understanding your audience. Every person learns in different ways, at different speeds, comes from different backgrounds, and has different lives. The more times I saw a student, the greater success they had; each time I would try to understand their learning style best, what works for them, and strategies for a teaching plan custom to who they were. I created a great connection with one student in particular, Charles, know as Chaz. Chaz struggled throughout school his entire life and many tutors did not work for him. By figuring out what structure of sessions and review style works best for him, I was able to create lesson plans each week tailored specifically for Chaz. This took lots of patience, but the experience was extremely rewarding. Helping Chaz succeed when other tutors couldn’t also help me realize my career must be in a client-facing role. My beyond-the-classroom artifact below showcases the impact I had on Chaz and other students.
After my time as a private tutor, I had the opportunity to work for the University’s student success center, as a Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leader. SI Leaders are essentially undergraduate teaching assistants that are placed in large classes with a high failure rate. SI Leaders are an additional free resource for students that hold three review sessions per week and attend every class. Having experience already tutoring Calculus, I was assigned Math 122 – Business Calculus. My weekly review sessions had anywhere between two to fifteen students, and exam prep sessions reached much higher. Group study sessions needed a completely different skill set than one-on-one tutoring. This SI Leader role furthered my communication skills as I had to make large changes to my teaching strategy and lesson plans. It would be extremely ineffective if I were to teach the same way in a classroom of two students versus twenty students. With a small number of students, this allowed me to take a more personal and individual role being very detailed with their specific needs in mind. As the study groups became larger, I had to change my communication and presentation style to fit the needs of the group. With several students, I would open by asking them what they are struggling with, focus on the common answers and try to cover as much material as possible. And if there were individual concerns, they would see me after. With every student and group, I changed my teaching strategy and style. This became applicable to almost all aspects of my life.
Along with being adaptable to my client’s needs, I learned immense interpersonal skills while working as a private tutor and SI Leader. I wanted to be more than just a calculus tutor to my students; A friend and someone who genuinely wanted to see them succeed. I want my students engaged and interested in the material, so I had to be interested in them. Dale Carnegie’s famous book “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” emphasizes this idea. He says, “To be interesting, be interested” (Carnegie, 1936). I truly wanted students to do well, and if I didn’t radiate this energy my teaching would not be as effective, and my students would not be as interested. Through my collegiate journey, I was able to create a lot of great relationships and help my student succeed; much of this is credited to learning the importance of understanding your audience no matter the circumstance.
As I transition into the business realm as an account manager, I will use this framework to effectively communicate with a variety of audiences including, but not limited to colleagues, clients, and prospective clients. Throughout my time at the University of South Carolina, I learned that effective communication is a necessary skill set for success in the financial world as well. All people’s financial situations, life goals, and plans are completely different. I will adapt to any client's needs and create a great sense of security and trust inside them.
​
Carnegie, Dale. How to Win Friends and Influence People. Simon & Schuster hardcover ed.
New York, Simon & Schuster, 2009.
