Motivation

Estimated Time: 30 minutes

Think about the last email, essay, or report that you wrote. How much time did you spend thinking about the person or people that were going to read your writing?

Like we mentioned in last week's lesson, communication is like a game of catch. As the sender, your job is not just to throw "the ball", it is to throw the ball so that the receiver is able to catch it! This requires you to think about who will be catching the ball, and to tailor your throw so that it can reach them.

Remember:

⚠️ The responsibility for effective communication sits with the sender. The sender is the one with the idea that they want to communicate. They must do what is required to get the idea to the receiver as intended, with minimal effort from the receiver.

📺 Watch the following video to learn about communicating a single idea to different audiences. The video is 23 minutes long, but you only need to watch the first 13:26 minutes.

Discuss: Adapting to Your Audience

💬 After watching the video, submit your responses to the questions in the Padlet below.

1. How did the professor discuss the internet differently with the child versus with the college student?
2. What do you think would happen if he tried to communicate the same way with the child and the college student?
3. When you are communicating with someone, how often do you think about adapting your message to them?