The role and purpose of audience.
Posted on Saturday 24 November 2012
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It is the modern era and all of us are modern citizens. We find numerous news items depicting many debates, reality shows, concerts, etc where a huge crowd or audience is present. What does all this indicate? It indicates that the audience is very important in a communication process. In any kind of communication the role of audience is very significant.
When we communicate, our purpose is not what we want to do, instead it is what we want our audience to do as a result of reading what we wrote or listening to what we said. Thus it involves the audience. To communicate effectively that is to achieve the purpose we must adapt to the audience. Therefore it is very important that we know and understand our audience aptly.
Knowing the purpose and the audience helps the writer or speaker determine his or her strategy. The audience is largely heterogeneous; it consists of our jury, colleagues, friends and even probably our family. Heterogeneity in the audience gives the crowd various ways to react, understand and act accordingly.
Audiences vary. They can be small or large. They can be reasonably homogeneous in what they already know or in what they are interested in, or they can be very heterogeneous too. The speaker or writer must learn to distinguish whenever and however possible between the specialists and non-specialists. Specialists would want more details in the communication while the non-specialised would want the communication to be better interpreted for them to understand. Audiences can also be classified as primary and secondary. The primary readers are the people whom the writer or the speaker targeted to communicate with specifically whereas the secondary audience consists of those whom the writer or the speaker did not target but has communicated with without his or her knowledge.
An effective communication however makes sense to all the categories or classes in which the audience can be divided and completes the communicator's motive to inform, entertain and persuade the audience according to his or her will.
When we communicate, our purpose is not what we want to do, instead it is what we want our audience to do as a result of reading what we wrote or listening to what we said. Thus it involves the audience. To communicate effectively that is to achieve the purpose we must adapt to the audience. Therefore it is very important that we know and understand our audience aptly.
Knowing the purpose and the audience helps the writer or speaker determine his or her strategy. The audience is largely heterogeneous; it consists of our jury, colleagues, friends and even probably our family. Heterogeneity in the audience gives the crowd various ways to react, understand and act accordingly.
Audiences vary. They can be small or large. They can be reasonably homogeneous in what they already know or in what they are interested in, or they can be very heterogeneous too. The speaker or writer must learn to distinguish whenever and however possible between the specialists and non-specialists. Specialists would want more details in the communication while the non-specialised would want the communication to be better interpreted for them to understand. Audiences can also be classified as primary and secondary. The primary readers are the people whom the writer or the speaker targeted to communicate with specifically whereas the secondary audience consists of those whom the writer or the speaker did not target but has communicated with without his or her knowledge.
An effective communication however makes sense to all the categories or classes in which the audience can be divided and completes the communicator's motive to inform, entertain and persuade the audience according to his or her will.
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