Source: Life_in_LDN @ Flickr

Today I heard on the radio that someone has developed an iPhone application that provides information about birth control. Who’s it aimed at? You guessed it, teens.

Now, it’s not like I’m trying to create a blog full of controversial political subjects. I just calls ‘em as I sees ‘em. And I see a brilliant example of using the right medium to reach your audience by knowing who you’re talking to.

An iPhone app about Medicare? Maybe not so much (apologies to one of the exceptions, my uncle, who after retiring as a business executive went to work as a Mac Genius just for fun).

The Same Rule #1 as Any Other Communication

I was amused by a speaker on a recent Webinar about building trust with clients. He recalled a story from early in his consulting career, when three slides into a major presentation for a new client, the senior client bellowed, “Get to the point!”

The lesson, as he explained it, was pinpointing the breakdown in trust with a client. I thought it was much simpler: he didn’t bother to find out the guy’s style, i.e. he didn’t know who he was talking to.

I worked on many new business and other presentations in my agency days. Sometimes I’d be called in to help with one. The briefing was usually about who was presenting from our team and what they were trying to sell to which client/office. But I wanted to know:

Source: Pop!Tech @ Flickr

• Who’s going to be in the room?
• Who’s the decision-maker?
• What does that person care about? What are their positive and negative buzzwords?
• What do we know about that person’s style, how they like to be presented to?
• What is that person’s biggest hesitation about our agency and agencies in general?
• Etc.

I just can’t say it enough. In presentations and everywhere else, you have to know who you’re talking to, and as much about them as possible: their fears, desires, motivations, why on earth they would do what you want them to.

That’s your starting point. Everything else builds from there.