No message can be considered and produced without regard to the audience, not a new idea, it's one whose truth was comprehensively brought to light by Aristotle. "The orator has therefore to guess the subjects on which the hearers really hold views already, and what those views are, and then must express, as general truths, these same views on these same subjects."No small task. This is where it comes in handy to do two things; find your own standpoint, and be open to others, seemingly a juxtaposition in task.
That's why so many resources are devoted to market research, demographic study, opinion polls, even swiping your Albertson's card. This data provide paradigms by which advertisers, evangelists and politicians can craft their messages.
Feeling vulnerable? If you're using Google's Gmail for instance, watch the relevance of the ads posted alongside the messages in your in box. Watch how these ads change in relevancy and content while you compose your next message, or open a new message. Audience analysis on a virtual intelligent level, though it's just matching terms and proper nouns, though it's working well enough to make Google billions.
Aristotle held that there are common ideas, values that give us motivation, impetus to respond based on how we feel, how strongly we're connected, how thoroughly we're convicted. Family, security, wealth, health, sex, wisdom, longevity, properity...
What are yours? What is your standpoint?
Proofs
Pathos, Logos and Ethos
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