The major role of any communicator is to pass along knowledge or information in his possession to a particular audience. It is essential to adapt the method of communication to varying audiences so as to enable that audience to comprehend the ideas that one is trying to put across. The mode of communication to one target audience may not resonate with another. For example, if the target audience is comprised of little children, then the communication should be straight forward and should not contain a lot of technical elements (Young, 64). If the target audience possesses some expertise on the subject of communication, then the communicator can incorporate related technical elements or phrases that are common in that particular field (Ferguson, 45). In my case, the concept that I wish to communicate about is the Greenhouse Effect. This is process whereby thermal radiation from the earth’s planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric gases present in the atmosphere and later re-radiated in all directions. The re-radiation results in a rise of the earth’s surface average temperature, higher than the one that would be recorded in the absence of the atmospheric gases, commonly referred to as the green house gases (Hocking, 24).
I have three target audiences and these are a third grade student, a parent and an expert in this field. The third grade student possesses very little if any knowledge on the subject. The parent may have a clue about the process by virtue of having acquired a high school education while the professional would without a doubt possess enormous knowledge on the subject, even more than mine. It is therefore very crucial that I design my communication technique in accordance to the needs and knowledge level of each target audience. I also have to take into consideration the ethical implications of my communication media and content. For instance, some language may not be appropriate to the third grade student. In addition, the media adopted should be able to serve all members of each target audience group without any trace of biasness.
In regards to the third grade student, the type of media that I would adopt is an animated picture. This is because at this tender age, children are captivated by animations and the best way to attract their attention would be use one (Young, 71). The animated picture would include a representation of earth, arrows showing the movement of radiation rays and the sun. There would then some basic descriptive information at the bottom of the animated picture talking about how the process takes place. I believe that the utilization of this type of media would be effective because it would be able to communicate a relative complex process to a target audience that has absolutely no understanding of the process.
The second target audience is comprised of parents. Unlike the third grade students, parents may be quite knowledgeable about the process by virtue of having attended high school where the process was taught in Geography class. Alternatively, if the parent did not attend Geography class, their speed of grasping concepts is relatively higher than that of a third grade student and a more technical mode of communication would be appropriate. Therefore, the type of communication media I would utilize is a video. This could for example be through a DVD that explicitly explains how the Green House effect takes place. The video would include a descriptive narration coupled with various animated visuals to explain how the green house process conclusively.
My final target audience member is a professional in the field. As a person who has great expertise in this field, he or she is already conversant with most of the concepts of this process. The media adopted should thus one that also provides an avenue for feedback (Young, 73). The use of technical elements and details is also acceptable since this is an audience that possesses a lot of knowledge on the topic. In regards to this, I would utilize a social media type of communication. I would create a page on Twitter and Facebook which is dedicated to the green house effect topic. The accounts would explore the causes, effects and implications for the green house process and avail a channel where this target audience can give their opinion or insight into the topic based on their expertise in the field.
Works Cited
Young, Paul H. Electronic Communication Techniques. New York: Merrill, 1994. Print.
Ferguson, Sherry D. Communication Planning: An Integrated Approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1999. Print.
Hocking, Colin. Global Warming & the Greenhouse Effect. Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California at Berkeley, 1990. Print.
