How to speak to a global audience

By Louise Botha, Recruitment Specialist

You would assume that communicating and connecting with people is a basic skill, and that part of your every-day business needs is to reach out and develop relationships with your target market. However, this is not always as simple as just communicating.

When operating on a global scale or a specific targeted audience, it becomes more complex and one needs to focus on who you are reaching out to.

An international audience can have its own challenges, together with a target market, such as a technical audience, which is another challenge all by itself. So how do we speak to an international tech audience?

1. Stop over generalising 

Understanding and knowing your people and buyer personas is crucial. The skill to adapt to different cultures, areas and reaching out globally requires one to personalise the experience of communication on a level where it makes sense to the individuals you are approaching.

2. Leverage opportunities better 

If the content is related to a technical audience, then use technology. It is all around us. This allows us to reach out to a broader community of people. 

3. Speak the lingo – know the stylistics 

Adapt your style and apply jargon where applicable. “Speak” tech, but don’t overuse or misuse it. Making it sound like you know what you are talking about and not knowing what you are talking about, is worse than just not knowing. Tailor your talk around the audience you are approaching. Some might think it is best to bombard them with your quick study of “jargon for dummies”, but that will come back to bite you if you don’t understand what you are talking about. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

4. Commit to audience research 

Research your audience well ahead of time to understand how you will approach them to communicate effectively. Use information to make your talk as relatable as possible and don’t assume your audience knows everything. Allow them to follow you throughout and be consistent in what you think will be interesting to the audience to grab their attention.

5. Educate and entertain 

Technical content can often be overwhelming. This means your audience may get lost if you do not prepare well – and it is important to make sure that your audience is paying attention from the very beginning, as this is often the part where you are explaining technical terms that may appear later on. When presenting a talk, technical, or non-technical, you must have the intention to entertain your audience, while educating them at the same time.

6. Use more visual content

Don’t lose your audience by going through a list of technical jargon, rather focus on interacting and engaging with them by also using visual content. Explain your content, use questions to allow them to interact. Use tools and examples to explain complex technical topics and make it as visual as possible. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Tell a story and talk around the visuals, and then around the content. From there it will flow into the next topic and by allowing the audience to interact, you will find yourself engaging and expanding your talk into what they are taking in from your approach.

When speaking to a targeted community of people is done right and well, it will open doors, and borders, for your business. Take a look at how you’re currently communicating and use these tips to enhance your capabilities and improve your overall relationship with your target audience. 

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