It’s not enough to know your audience, you have to meet them where there are

Most of us have heard the maxim know your audience. And it is true we make better connections with our audience—be they business stakeholders, a target consumer audience or employees—when we understand who they are. Less talked about is the concept of meeting your audience members where they are. It’s a subtle but important difference. If their starting point to your narrative is different than yours, it is easy to lose them quickly. To know them means to understand who they are. To meet them where they are is about recognizing there may need to be some education or context-setting before you can even begin your narrative.