My buddy Mike Long puts into words something I’ve long believed but have struggled to articulate:
“It’s not as important as you think to ‘know’ your audience. The wise move is to focus on what motivates humans in general in the context of the topic. For instance, no matter how educated we are, we are all susceptible to an initial emotional reaction.
“With that in mind, you’re freed to think less about any particular audience and more about what people in general react to. People like stories. People like tension and release. People like to feel a personal connection to the problem at hand. They like to understand. They like to be made to feel smart. They like to figure things out on their own. This is true whether it’s a room full of computer programmers, senators, activists, or potential customers. We are humans first.
