As RLF’s Chief Strategy Officer Billy Warden points out in his recently penned piece for the Carolina Journal: “Appreciate the values and interests, fears and aspirations people are expressing. And understand their preferred styles of communication.”
Often easily forgotten, good communication doesn’t only involve opening your mouth or sharing a well-crafted message. Quality communication is a dialogue, one that involves exchanging ideas, but also requires active listening and staying tuned into what the other party—or your audience—has to say.
In practice, that might look like opening your ears to feedback or direct discussion. More often, it means keeping your finger on the pulse of unspoken communication to craft compelling campaigns, foster stronger and more sustainable engagement, and spearhead smarter strategies. Here are five tips to help turn down the volume and turn up your ears for your next big public relations project.
Don’t Just Hear, Understand
There’s a lot of underlying communication beyond what’s spoken. Consider the motivation behind a client’s goals, to-do list or plans. Step back and take in the full context before crafting your message.
Meet Them Where They Are
You or your client’s desired message might resonate differently depending on the audience. Don’t just broadcast what you want to say. Instead, tailor your communication to reflect what the right audience needs to hear. Take time to understand their perspective, language and values.
Keep It Real
During a campaign to prevent youth tobacco use, Warden and colleagues successfully engaged an important stakeholder group based largely on a casual yet powerful remark from a farmer. “Tobacco put a roof over my family’s heads, he said, “but that doesn’t mean I want my babies to start smoking.” Real stories and voices carry weight.
That campaign engaged a similar deep listening strategy to develop messages, events and collateral aimed at the core target group: teenagers. Combining authenticity and nuanced public health messaging, the campaign ended up driving engagement across multiple channels. Look for similarly genuine voices and moments that reflect the human truth behind your message.
Leave the Judgement at Home
Approach each audience interaction with curiosity over critique. Stepping into someone else’s shoes builds connections and allows for clarity and empathy, all while learning something new.
Get On Your Platform
To listen to your audience, you have to know where they are. Scoring a placement in a major newspaper isn’t helpful if your target audience spends more time catching podcasts and scrolling through social media. Figure out where and how your target market is communicating—and tweak your tone, content and style as needed.
When it comes to tuning your big ears into music, recovering rock critic Warden cites James Brown, the Stones, Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello and ‘anything new or old with a propulsive boots-and-pants disco beat’ among his faves. But I’ll have to go with the Stones! Want to continue to tune into the art of listening? Read Billy’s full article here.
By: Anna Beth Adcock
