I was recently helping a partner at an investment firm prepare to speak on a panel at a major conference.
We were focussed on how he would engage his audience when he posed a good question, as the audience in the hall is going to be hundreds of people how do I make a connection?
If you see an audience as one large faceless group of people (admittedly a common mistake when speaking to a big event) then you’ll have a tough time engaging your audience and getting them to take the action you want.
It is true that a large audience will include a diverse mix of people, even if you are speaking at a specialised industry conference.
Your job is to decide which sub-group in the large audience is most important to you. Then focus in on that subgroup’s needs and what you want them to think, feel and then do after you have communicated.
To continue with the example. Our venture capital friend was speaking at an investment event in Germany and specifically wanted to raise the profile of his firm with start-up founders of financial businesses. He was less interested in connecting with other attendees like angel investors, other VCs, advisers, journalists, analysts or founders of businesses in other sectors.
To segment his audience, we broke it down by (what he wanted in brackets):
Industry (financial)
Geography (investment remit constrained to Europe but Germany and UK of particular interest)
Revenue (specific range of size and growth)
Role in company (wanted to talk directly to founders or CEOs)
Psychology (driven and committed individuals who want to succeed)
Relationships (open, transparent and willing to build partnerships)
By going through this process, I was then able to help him curate his content and focus what he was saying, the stories and examples he used to increase his chances of genuinely engaging the audience that mattered to him.
If you were segmenting your audience and it was a very different communication moment such as a small internal meeting where you know the individual qualities, likes, worries and foibles of those attending, the way you segment would be different. Here you would be looking for an empathetic connection.
The important thing is that you go through this process to really know your audience as best as you possibly can. Then you will be able to develop a presentation or develop your content that will connect with the key people or person for your communication moment so you inform, influence and inspire and get the action you want.