Meeting people where they are
Photo by Haberdoedas on Unsplash
Across the varied forms of communication that have been discussed over the last few weeks—writing, speaking, listening—there is one common and fundamental lesson to be found: in order for communication to be successful, you have to meet people where they are.
On some level, you probably already do this intuitively. When describing what you do for work, you don’t use the same language for your 12-year-old niece as you do for your sister-in-law who is a lawyer. When you talk about your research to your parents, you don’t use the same sentences you do when presenting at a colloquium. In each of these cases, you inherently understand what your audience does and does not understand about your field, and what terms they would or would not be familiar with. You naturally consider what personal experiences your listeners might have that you can draw on to make analogies, and to help solidify their understanding of what you do.
But, meeting people where they are isn’t something only reserved for when you are speaking to your loved ones. It should happen in every setting in which communication occurs, no matter the mode of communication being used, and regardless of with whom you are communicating. This is one reason why we should also ask, intuitively, who will be in the audience when we are invited to give talks. Will we be speaking to researchers, clinicians, or educators? Students and faculty members? Understanding who will be in the room can give us clues as to what content we may need to spend more time explaining, and what content or definitions we can skip over. The same calculus can be applied when we’re considering what journal to submit our research to; for instance, the background and messaging for a neuroscience journal is going to look vastly different than the messaging and background for a cognition journal. Likewise, the language and sentence structure we use to describe our research will probably (or should probably) look very different for a donor pitch versus a conference submission.
Communication is about connection, and meeting people where they are signals our willingness and desire to foster that connection. In one-on-one or small group settings, tuning into the verbal and non-verbal communication can help refine your understanding of the knowledge or experience your communication partner may have. Then, you can pivot your language and the content you wish to share accordingly, establishing common ground that will allow you to meet your partner where they are. The beautiful thing about language is that it is flexible, and always evolving. You can use this flexibility to ensure that you are staying connected in a way that is meaningful and engaging to your communication partner.
It can be tempting to think that communicating in a fashion that meets your audience where they are somehow lessens your work, or makes you seem less smart than you are. But communicating effectively—no matter to whom you are speaking, writing, or even pantomiming— is the actual hard work, that requires deep integrative thinking, and that will ultimately demonstrate your knowledge and expertise. Establishing common ground with your audience and communicating with them from their own starting point also gives you the opportunity to share your work and knowledge widely and appropriately given the context, and actually empowers your audience to do the same with their networks.
Finally, as has been discussed over the past few weeks, just like every other facet of communication, meeting people where they are takes practice. You won’t always get it right—or at least not right away. The goal is to have empathy for your audience by trying to understand what they understand. If you’re ready to refine your communication practice and meet your audiences where they are, and need some support, reach out here.
Next week: Rest
