Stand up for Science: Practical Approaches to Discussing Science that Matters

Exercise 1: Build an Audience Profile

In this exercise you will be choosing a group that you're interested in working with, or that you plan to work with in the future. Complete the questions to make educated guesses about what your audience already knows, what their values and beliefs might be, and what they might want from you. Remember that communication should benefit your audience, so take the time to understand your audience as best you can before you begin designing your communication effort.

Define your target audience - be as specific as possible! (Example: K-12 youth in a museum setting; legislators in a town-hall; drinking-age adults in a science cafe.)

Now answer the following questions on your own, to the best of your ability:

1. What is the age range of your audience?
2. What is the demographic makeup of your audience?
3. How much background knowledge do they have about science in general? Your field of expertise? Your area of study?
4. What is the context of your communication effort (e.g., in person, in writing, online, video, etc.)? How large is your audience likely to be?
5. What assumptions can you safely make about your audiences’ needs, beliefs, values, and/or motivations?
6. What do you think your audience wants from you by interacting with your communication effort?
7. Of what benefit is your work likely to be to your audience?
8. How likely is it that your communication effort will elicit charged opinions or responses from your audience?