Reaction Blog Chpt 15
Reaction Blog Chapter 15, Liz Felter
As I read Chapter 15 I couldn’t help but think that “knowing your audience” would simplify the whole situation. When you know the audience it makes selecting the right spokesperson easier and chances for success greater. Comments about credibility, responsiveness and acceptable to the audience, have surfaced for the past 6 weeks of class. Comments about speaking in terms the audience understands have been mentioned time and time again. Communicators that do not speak in a language understood by the audience and use unacceptable body language will be seen as smug and not genuine. The goal of the audience accepting the risk will be to no avail.
Knowing the audience can help determine how much face-to-face time will be needed. Again the statement “the farther away we get from individual contact, the more room there is for confusion and misunderstanding” This reminds me of a kid’s game “telephone”. One person whispered something into one person’s ear and that person tells another person whispers what they think they heard the first person say to another person.
When the last person in the circle is asked to say what they heard to compare it to what the statement was when the game started there is usually total confusion and misunderstanding. The statement is usually a completely different statement than what it started out as. The ironic thing here is that this game is done face-to face and there is still run for plenty of error. Proving that choosing the appropriate communicator is very important.
It would behoove the organization to choose someone that the audience can relate to but, lack of knowledge on their part does not always result is selecting the appropriate person. Unfortunately internal politics blinds the organization when making this important decision. They often feel that the expert in the area of a particular risk should also be the spokesperson. As discussed in the chapter that may work out well if that person can speak in terms the audience understands and their body language is viewed as acceptable to hat audience.
This person should also be able to build and maintain a relationship with the media that covers their organization. This will take more work than figuring out how to communicate with the many facets of the audience. Special care to stay in touch with this person during times when risk and crisis are NOT an issue is very important. The media can easily see if through the communicator if they only have contact during an emergency. It will be important for you to know how they media representatives in your area operate. What are they trying to accomplish. Remember that everything you say is on the record, whether you think it is or not.
The media can make or break your communications strategy. If you can build a partnership with the reporter or reporters that cover your organization they can strengthen your communication campaign. This will increase the impact of your message and possibly increase the number of people reached.
As I read Chapter 15 I couldn’t help but think that “knowing your audience” would simplify the whole situation. When you know the audience it makes selecting the right spokesperson easier and chances for success greater. Comments about credibility, responsiveness and acceptable to the audience, have surfaced for the past 6 weeks of class. Comments about speaking in terms the audience understands have been mentioned time and time again. Communicators that do not speak in a language understood by the audience and use unacceptable body language will be seen as smug and not genuine. The goal of the audience accepting the risk will be to no avail.
Knowing the audience can help determine how much face-to-face time will be needed. Again the statement “the farther away we get from individual contact, the more room there is for confusion and misunderstanding” This reminds me of a kid’s game “telephone”. One person whispered something into one person’s ear and that person tells another person whispers what they think they heard the first person say to another person.
When the last person in the circle is asked to say what they heard to compare it to what the statement was when the game started there is usually total confusion and misunderstanding. The statement is usually a completely different statement than what it started out as. The ironic thing here is that this game is done face-to face and there is still run for plenty of error. Proving that choosing the appropriate communicator is very important.
It would behoove the organization to choose someone that the audience can relate to but, lack of knowledge on their part does not always result is selecting the appropriate person. Unfortunately internal politics blinds the organization when making this important decision. They often feel that the expert in the area of a particular risk should also be the spokesperson. As discussed in the chapter that may work out well if that person can speak in terms the audience understands and their body language is viewed as acceptable to hat audience.
This person should also be able to build and maintain a relationship with the media that covers their organization. This will take more work than figuring out how to communicate with the many facets of the audience. Special care to stay in touch with this person during times when risk and crisis are NOT an issue is very important. The media can easily see if through the communicator if they only have contact during an emergency. It will be important for you to know how they media representatives in your area operate. What are they trying to accomplish. Remember that everything you say is on the record, whether you think it is or not.
The media can make or break your communications strategy. If you can build a partnership with the reporter or reporters that cover your organization they can strengthen your communication campaign. This will increase the impact of your message and possibly increase the number of people reached.
posted by Liz Felter at
2/11/2007 04:39:00 PM
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