In Context

Louis Theroux recently hosted Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle on his Grounded podcast, and part of their conversation was around some of his edgier jokes and the resulting media outrage. Boyle in turn makes a really good point, and it’s one relevant to all of us in professional communications.

Context.

His opinion is, of course something he says to a comedy crowd at 10pm in Newcastle doesn’t read as well in a newspaper as someone has breakfast in Surrey.

Context.

The comedy crowd’s ready for the punchline. Someone reading a paper looking to stoke outrage – and maintain easy content for a week or so – not so much. Of course not. They haven’t (literally) bought in to the joke and the person telling it.

Let’s not forget this principle applies to all communications we put out there; from internal comms to industry to ads and marketing campaigns.

Does your message make sense to your audience in context?

I’ve seen organisational announcements so long some employees literally didn’t read all the way through to the actual announcement.

We’ve all seen ad campaigns so busy celebrating their own creativity the product and brand effectively disappear.

Online copy so bad it seems to forget you know what the internet is and how it works.

Context (to put it scientifically) gives your messaging ooooomph. It makes it more digestible for your audience – and in turn more effective.

Think about what your message means to people. Where it will work best. How and when it will be consumed.

A lot of people – and organisations – forget this. They spend time working on getting the message right to their own minds, and it then becomes an unwinnable challenge to try to force it into places it doesn’t always naturally sit.

The context of your message delivery really matters, and building it into everything you do, or write, or publish, or create, will ensure you’re in a position to really see a return on the investments and resources you use.

To talk to me more about how context is critical to your communications, start with an email to wadehowland@internode.on.net

Write for your Intended Audience (aka Who Do We Sign For?)

All communication should have a reason.

And underpinned by that reason, it should be presented in the way most quickly and efficiently understood by your target audience, no matter the medium.

Always consider who you’re talking to. How is that person best going to understand what you’re saying?

I really hate seeing public signage presented in a way likely to miss the audience. So it’s been decided at a bureaucratic level there’s a need for some information?

Great. The very least you can do is make it clear and understandable to users. Now, take a look at this.

River Torrens pathway, Adelaide

This sign is 200m from the Adelaide Convention Centre, right on the edge of the city centre, in an area with international conventions and hotels. It’s on a popular walking and cycling path used by locals and tourists.

There must be a clearer way to say this.

You’d probably need better-than-conversational English to read and understand this. As a safety message, it’s a fail. As general information, it’s a fail. Even just the words ‘PLEASE SHARE’ and an arrow in each direction would be easier to consume – and understand – for non-English speakers.

Every time I walk past it, I wince. How can it be so important a sign is required, but the execution is so flawed? Any consideration for the very real (and very international) audience is completely overlooked.

And I know it’s always easy to criticise others, so I use this as a reminder for my own work.

Am I really keeping my audience in mind when I write? Ask any copywriter; especially when we work on big jobs it can be hard to take a step back and look at what you’re presenting.

But it’s worth it. Because if you fail to impact your audience, you’ve failed. And with just a bit of critical thinking when you review your work you can stay on the right path, whether it’s narrow or not.