Audience

Audience Effective leadership communication requires leaders to analyze their audience to develop and convey the appropriate message. Skilled communicators must know the audience and the audience’s level of preparedness to understand the information that is being conveyed. Based on the audience analysis, leaders will know:

• How fast or slow to speak • The amount of technical language to use • How in-depth the information can and should be • The level of description and definition needed • The credibility the leader has with the audience

Leaders must also consider the room in which they will deliver the message. Is the room a large auditorium with a fixed seating pattern or a small room where chairs and tables and be arranged? Will everybody be able to see and hear the speaker? A best practice is to test the microphone to verify that the speaker’s voice is clearly audible. In a meeting room, speakers should determine where they will sit to host their dialogue. If the table is a rectangle, they may want to sit at the head of the table or along the side. Sitting in the middle along one side of the table may make a speaker more visible and accessible to other meeting participants. Speakers may appear to be unapproachable and distant by sitting at the head of the table.