Audience, Audience, Audience!

Real estate agents have always had the motto, “Location, location, location.” Today, I’m giving communication professionals a motto of our own: “Audience, audience, audience.”
Audience selection guides a number of decisions as we assemble and execute a communication plan:

• What key messages do we want those audiences to hear? Even when announcing the same thing, two different audiences may want or need to hear different messages.
• What is the best way to reach my audience? Maybe your audience should be targeted through the news media or a blog. Maybe you can reach them directly through an e-newsletter.
• What will get the audience’s attention? A well-crafted plan takes its audiences’ needs into consideration. And remember that reporters keep the audience in mind; they want material that is of interest to their readers.

Just like buying the beautiful condo that’s right next to the hog fat rendering plant, filling the air with its aroma, can you imagine sending a release about the new Grand Theft Auto video game to American Bee Journal?

Remember: audience, audience, audience.

-- Alicia DeMatteo

Remember, Silence

I will admit it - I can be a loud person.

My voice carries. I’m not shy when I laugh. And I have been known to break the tension in group settings. But as the father of two young daughters, I also understand that value of quiet reflection.

On Jan. 10, President Obama requested a moment of silence in honor of the Tucson shooting victims. We at Lilja decided to observe that moment of silence, and at 10 a.m., time stopped.

Now I choose to keep my thoughts from this experience private, but I will describe what I learned from this period of silence.

For the first few moments, the mind starts to panic: “Why is it so quiet? Is something wrong? What should I be thinking about?” It’s in this mental drowning phase that you realize just how much you carry inside everyday. But as the seconds drip away, peace and quiet emerge once again, and you feel the return of something we often forget in this highly-connected, on-demand world: solitude.

To put it plainly, it’s a feeling we could afford to become reacquainted with, and I challenge you to do so. What you’ll discover once you find solitude again may surprise you.

I know I was.

-- Alex Cook

Singing bowls bring people in and out of silence in some traditions.