Your Privacy is Important To Us.

Knowing your audience is critical to achieving the result you desire, whether you are writing a grant, teaching a medical or graduate school class, speaking at your child’s school for career day, or seeking funding from a foundation or earmarks from a political leader. Before you can persuade someone to accept your ideas, support your proposal or take action, you need to understand who they are, what they value and what motivates them. The ability to educate, influence opinions or encourage action depends on first connecting with your audience, in addition to being sure what the expectations are for your presentation – something that many researchers feel unqualified to do. The solution is to partner with experts and seek help and advice from sources you may not have considered, such as The Office for Government and Community Relations. As academics, we are trained to meet academic expectations, but when approaching a foundation or a powerful lawmaker, you should research their interests and concerns and understand any bias or deeply held beliefs they may have. Otherwise, it is easy to inadvertently antagonize them by failing to follow unspoken protocol and miss critical “red flags”. Examples of doing this well – and some real-life examples of doing it poorly – will be discussed. Strategies to understand various audiences you can expect to encounter will be described, including speaking on short notice to media about your expertise or your work, or addressing a skeptical public on TV during a pandemic. Lessons learned during COVID and times of changing federal priorities will be discussed. Successful and impactful scientific communication is not simply about presenting accurate scientific information! Ultimately, knowing your audience is the foundation that will help you be maximally effective.

Catherine Sedota
Email: cmp9@buffalo.edu
Phone: 716-844-9282