Know Your Audience

Knowing your audience is the only way to connect with who you are speaking to on an intimate level. Without knowing where someone is from or what they believe, it is quite easy to offend them and then you have lost all credibility and interest from them. If you want to connect with your audience you must know their age ranges and their backgrounds. You wouldn't use medical terms in a layman's conference just as you wouldn't use slang at an English conference. You must know all aspects of your audience, this includes political and religious views. I am not saying that you can't voice your own views but you must be able to back them up and show proof and knowledge to back your points. It all really depends on what kind of communication you are after with your audience. Informative means you have proof to back up your speech or blog, and if it's persuasive you better be ready to tread lightly in some areas. It all comes down to knowing your audience and what majority they hold. If they are into science you wouldn't talk about art, and vice versa. I understand that everyone is from all over and ages range from young to old, but you have to find the median to keep interest across the board. This is knowing your audience.