Communicating to a wide audience

Ben Stapley Oct. 23, 2021

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Leaders, I want to give you a simple but often overlooked best practice to help you communicate and connect with a wide audience. I will also help you avoid two common communication mistakes.

Let's do this by looking at a bell curve about organizational awareness.

• The first part of the curve is those who are very aware of your organization. These are your fanboys and fangirls. They follow you on social media and sign up for newsletters. They are in the know.
• The second part of the curve is those who are mildly aware of your organization. These people know you exist. They are either engaged with you as an organization or at least know how to engage with you. They might not be brand loyal but they are brand aware.
• The third part of the curve is those who are unaware of your organization. These people don't know you exist. Or if they do know, they have purposefully chosen not to engage with you.

The simple and overlooked best practice is to craft your communication to those in the middle who are mildly aware. For two reasons. One, this is where the majority of your current and potential audience is. Two, this type of communication will also be accessible to people on the edges of the bell curve.

Crafting communication for those in the middle helps you avoid communicating for the fringe. If you craft your communication for the very aware you will under communicate. You will falsely assume that your audience knows what you know. "No reason to tell them about XYZ cause they already know about it." This type of communication is designed for you and not your audience. Design communication for your audience.

On the other side of the curve, if you craft your communication for the unaware you will over communicate. You will waste valuable resources on the disinterested and unengaged. You'll spend more time communicating and less time taking action. This is not good since organizations need to be centered and focused on their actions.

When it comes to your communication, avoid the extremes of preaching to the choir and trying to convert the uninterested.

I hope this bell curve helps you connect with the widest audience possible.

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For over twenty years Ben has created & captured moving and memorable moments for individuals, non-profits & corporations across the globe. He has served on the executive team of multiple megachurches and currently serves as the Executive Pastor at Zarephath Christian Church in New Jersey. Ben also consults for churches, teaches at universities and speaks at conferences about leadership, communication and creativity. For more information visit www.benstapley.com. Learn More »

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