A Little League Lesson in Knowing Your Audience

Sometimes when I think of the vital communications mantra of knowing your audience, the words lollipops and ice cream come to mind.

Let me explain. Back when my son was about 11 years old, I was coaching his Little League team in a playoff game. We were up by a run going into the bottom half of the last inning. Three outs and we’d be heading into the finals.

Right before the boys were about to take the field, I gathered them around me for a pep talk. I was really started to feel it as I saw the kids nodding their heads and pumping their fists. I was on a roll!

Yet, for reasons still unknown, as my Vince Lombardi-esque rift reached its crescendo…well, I will let you listen in…

“And when we win this game, we’re going to the championship! And after we win the championship we’re going to celebrate with…”

I paused, searching for the words…

“LOLLIPOPS AND ICE CREAM!”

It was as if an electric shock rippled through the team. Their heads bolted upright as they looked at me with unified horror and confusion. I saw my son take a careful step back from the circle. My assistant coach cocked an eyebrow, then gazed off in the distance.

Clearly and unequivocally, I had lost my audience.

It’s not that those boys didn’t like lollipops. And they surely loved ice cream. It’s just I had delivered the wrong message to my audience in that fateful moment.

We lost in the game in a walk-off home run.

Make sure you know your audience and communicate with them in ways they can understand and relate to. And if you’re speaking to them in a high-pressure situation, think about what you are going to say and how you are going to say it.

Now let’s get out there and win this thing.