Receiver

This is the target audience, the people you must reach. You must learn about the characteristics and attitudes of your projected receivers if you are to communicate effectively and persuasively. Such factors as educational level, economic status, occupa­tion, place of residence, religious affiliation, national origin, social class, and political affiliation affect how a target audience receives and perceives your message.

As business becomes more global, there is also a growing need to understand the attitudes, customs, and cultures of people in other nations. Faulty translations of pub­licity materials can cause a number of gaffes if one does not understand the language and culture of a nation.

Your responsibility is to research your audience. Reference books, surveys and polls, online databases and personally talking to members of the target audience are good approaches. Armed with such knowledge, you can give information in such a way that the recipients will accept the message, absorb it, and eventually act on it.