Case Study - Meeting Your Audience's Needs

Recently I have written about personality styles - and meeting your audiences needs by examining them. This is a subject that I was planning to return to soon - however M beat me to it.

She sent me a delightful letter that demonstrates an example of becoming aware of where others are at personality wise. In her case it is a classroom discussion/debate rather than an audience but the principles still apply. In addition, she reveals that she is making progress at overcoming her fear.

Congratulations M and thanks for allowing us to share and learn from your experience.

David.

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Hi David,

I've been reading your newsletters for a while now and would like to say that I think they are great. I feel that I know you very well even though I live across the other side of the globe. I am a mother of three, I work fulltime in the real estate industry and I study at the University of ______________. I am studying for a Bachelor Degree in Adult Education and find your information very useful as it is often relevant to the topics we are covering. This semester I am Studying Contemporary Approaches to Adult Learning and Critical Thinking. Both very enjoyable subjects.

Public speaking for me has been very distressing. I am now feeling more confident as I participate in debates at the University as well as attending Toastmasters. I agree with you about personality styles. My personality style is assertive however I prefer not to think of it that way. I am assertive in a very pleasant and natural way.

I have noticed at University that I am the only one that contributes to classroom discussion. Often I hold back because I feel that I am the dominating voice within the classroom. (I don't want people to think of me in a negative way). A few weeks ago our tutor put the class into groups for a debate. I was the first speaker against the theory of androgogy. All the while my heart was pounding loudly over my thoughts and as I closed I couldn't remember what I had just said. Is this normal? Anyway, I looked up at the opposition and they looked shocked, some were laughing and I heard others say "what did she say?" I remember my closing line. "If you all believe that androgogy is a complete theory to describe the way adults learn then I feel that you are all very naïve".

It was a very assertive close but it worked. For the next 20 minutes the opposition were at me. They expressed their thoughts and debated very well. I could hardly believe that this was the same group of people that never spoke a word. It was good to hear their voices and their expression of opinion. Even though they were defending themselves on a personal level. The next week I had mentioned that some voices remain silent within the classroom while others are heard me frequently. I told the class of my feelings about being the dominant voice and they were shocked. They couldn't believe that I was talking because I felt uncomfortable about the silence. Now everyone contributes to class discussion. This I think is a perfect example of personality styles. Some people just need a little longer before they feel comfortable within the classroom setting.

I hope you have enjoyed hearing from me.

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