Know Your Audience
The audience sat in their seats for hours as the program continued. The next speaker confidently stepped up to the podium and adjusted the mic. Insert joke one. Awkward. Joke two. Yikes. Obviously part of their public speaking training had included the recommendation to use humor as a way to break the ice. In today’s society humor can be extremely nuanced. I cringed realizing that the success of humor differs by audience. In this case, wrong audience. Nervous chuckles. Audience murmurs. Please move on. The next statement was when it became clear that the speaker very likely hadn’t written their own remarks, let alone reviewed them in advance. White male. Black audience. Likely young writer. The first serious statement was wrong. Embarrassingly wrong. How could all of this be happening on such a public platform? Someone did not understand the assignment. There was a pause. I thought the speaker was going to abandon the script and speak from the heart. They didn’t. They pressed on through a well written speech that seemed to miss the mark of authenticity. This got me thinking about my own role in writing for others.
I can listen to great orators speak for hours on end. Interviews. Speeches. Programs. Sermons. It’s part of my love for words and performance. From pastors to lawyers to street performers to teachers, I adore listening to how people deliver their messages to audiences. More often than I’d like to admit, there are even moments when tears sting the corners of my eyes, landing on my cheeks or shirt before I’ve realized I’m even crying. Words move me. As a ghostwriter, I have the privilege of penning the words a person will deliver with such compelling emotion. I craft each sentence with intention and expectation. I spend what sometimes feels like a lifetime crafting “just right” messaging for a specific occasion. Not only am I capturing what the person needs to say, I’m weaving in what the audience wants to hear. I spend time monitoring social chatter - what are people saying about this particular topic? What things are inspiring them? Angering them? The next step is considering, which of these individuals or types are likely to be in the audience that day? What should they know, do, or feel after this moment? All of this weighs heavy in my mind. The words must connect with the audience just as much as they connect with the deliverer. The expressions must resonate with truth and authenticity. Ultimately, the speaker will leave me in the recess of their minds (if anywhere at all) as they step up to deliver what has become theirs. My job is complete. Exit stage left.
Book writing and public speaking fall into similar categories for me. The ultimate goal of each is to communicate a specific set of points. Effective communication happens when what the speaker is saying is clearly understood by the audience. There’s no room for disconnection. The best way to handle this is by knowing your audience. What do you need to say and what do they need and want to hear? How can you connect the two? That’s my job as a collaborator; to connect those dots between people and concepts.