The easiest way to approach people is via their culture – language, life style and experiences. Who would start in Italy a lecture in such a way: „Bonsoir Mesdames et Messieurs. Je suis enchanté que… “. Of course except, it is a Frenchman, who is giving a French lesson. Even then, it would be smart to start the course at least in Italian.

It will be clear to most people that it is proficient to consider the local conditions in a presentation. Nevertheless, many miss the opportunity to be better understood and eventually accepted by the audience.

This means that you have to recognize the traits of the audience besides the actual contents. With the self-image, these characteristics are well documented comprehensively. They are derived from looking at the visible elements of the target group. This includes the context, the actions and the capabilities. Based on the invisible elements, you can induce through personal observation or the look at the publications. The convictions, the recognizable roles and the fundamental solidarity with certain cultural systems are the result.

Imagine you would like to show a new product to your production area. You present the desired customers, the sales concept and the competitors. You explain the innovative technology and the successful design. However, you say nothing about the new requirements for the production, the manufacturing cells, the organization and the desired numbers of items. All information is important. In this context, it is more important to put the emphasis on the manufacturing aspects.

With this simple example, you can see that presentations should always be accomplished by bearing the target group in mind. If you are in manufacturing, do as the manufacturers. Otherwise, it can be expected that the actual message will not reach the target group and, in the worst case, will end up in resistance.

Bottom line: Specify before any informing the characteristics of the target group, with more or less details depending on the importance. Accordingly, the messages have to be aligned to the target group. An appropriate structure is provided by the self-image.

Videos:

The self-image in a nutshell: https://youtu.be/MvoCq2dONUI

Potential application areas: http://ow.ly/wdjWO