Understanding your audience

How to understand your audience:

To serve people well, you need to step into their shoes. This is where empathy comes in. Ask: What does life look like from their perspective? What do they need help with? How do they feel?

We break this down into four areas:

• Age
• Gender
• Income level
• Education or occupation
• Family structure

• Values
• Interests or hobbies
• Attitudes
• Lifestyle choices
• Opinions
• Personality traits

• How much do they already know about your ministry?
• How much do they understand about the problem you address?
• What gaps in knowledge might you need to fill?

• What motivates them?
• What frustrations or struggles do they carry?
• How do they like to communicate—what tone, what kind of language?