Top 3 insights and applications for this module.
#1 You really need to know what the audience is that you are trying to target. You need to do formative research to effectively segment the population so that you know what appeals to that specific part of that population. I really liked the zip code generator that our professor showed us in class. It was a good example of how people actually use segmentation in our society. You could use the zip code generator to look at what things a person in a certain zip code values so you could tailor an intervention on nutrition in that specific zip code.
#2 There are vast differences in how to reach your audience. Almost half of the United States is functionally illiterate. You really need to pay attention to the reading level of your population and look to find the best way to reach your audience whether it is by TV, internet, word of mouth, certain types of newspaper, ect. An example of how to apply this in our world would be incorporating a certain health topic into a population’s very popular TV show. For example- young teenagers incorporating drinking issues into MTV – maybe into the Real World and additional shows on MTV.
#3 Presentations skills are important. According to our reading people that went to presentations found most of them dull. It also said people only spent on average under 2 hours preparing for their presentation. Considering how much more time than that I spent on my 10 minute presentation I cannot imagine only spending 2 hours- and I can see why most of them are dull with so little time put into them. I thought there were a few really good suggestions – like personal stories, black background, not giving handouts so people had to focus on you, how to turn the screen black so people also had to focus on you, not trying to jam too many things into a short presentation, and having a way to interact with the audience. Using these skills with a topic you were involved in would make a better presentation.
On a side note I think it is harder to do a presentation about things you are not super familiar with because it is much harder to remember things off the top of your head, and it makes it easier to get flustered when you don’t know the topic like the back of your hand but you’re trying to give a flowing presentation without reading off your notes. I kinda disagree with the Zen presentation principles- I thought seeing everyone’s presentation was very interesting and liked to see all the different images and videos people choose to use. In general the more picture there are the more captivated I am. I also like to see actual charts and be able to see all the differences in all the variables ect. To each their own
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Lanny,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point about the different ways to reach your target audience. I think this will probably be one of the most important (and difficult) components of all of our group projects. As a member of the substance abuse group, I think it was interesting that you mentioned incorporating drinking issues into a show like the Real World. This show is probably really popular among teenagers/young adults, so you would be able to expose your message to a lot of people. However, I wonder if there would be too many competing messages on the show/network. I haven't personally watched MTV in years, but I remember that there was a lot of (underage) drinking that occurred on previous seasons of the Real World. Are young adults going to take a "drink responsibly" message seriously if they're watching a show centered around people getting completely annihilated?