Knowing Your Audience free essay sample

The collapse of the Chilean Copper Mine was covered worldwide for several weeks. Over 30 workers were trapped in a mine for well over a month. The rescue teams and US advisory team had to be very cautious when speaking to the miners, families, and news reporters. These teams had to keep in mind the different roles of the people in the audience and how they would receive the message. They also had to keep in mind the potential needs of the families of the miners and how they receive a message concerning the incident. Finally they especially had to keep in mind the potential needs of the company’s employees when receiving a message about the incident. When speaking to the audience surrounding this incident the person delivering the message would need to be well prepared for questions, confident when answering questions and addressing the audience, and remember to speak in a style that everyone could understand. We will write a custom essay sample on Knowing Your Audience or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page With an incident so dangerous and time consuming it is best for the speaker to have great nonverbal communication skills. Before you even open your mouth, your facial expressions, your clothes, your walk, your body posture, your skin color, your hairstyle, etc are communicating much about you† (Cheesebro, T. , O’Connor, L. , Rios, F. , 2010). The speaker needs to be confident, have strong body posture, and have a controlled facial expression. This will keep the audience from reacting with any type of unnecessary panic. The verbal message is also important but the non-verbal communication is noticed before any words are spoken. In a crisis such as the Chilean Copper Mine Collapse one must take into consideration the potential needs of the families of the miners when receiving a message in regards to this incident. When delivering this message the speaker will want to issue an informative message. â€Å"This type of informative speech explains how something works (processes) or how something is done (procedures)† (Cheesebro, T. , O’Connor, L. , Rios, F. , 2010). The families will benefit from an informative message letting them know what has been done, what will be done, and how it will get done. This way the families understand what is going on and can feel like they are a part of the process. Informing the family will help them feel like they are not disregarded or unimportant which can give them a sense of calm. If the families of the miners are upset, then the miners will become upset which will cause complete chaos, and in a situation like this chaos is the last thing anyone needs. The companies’ employees are the main people affected by this incident so the message to them should be from someone responsible in the company such as an owner, ceo, president, or vice president. The employees need to know that this incident is the priority for the company and that they are involved. The message should cover the main points that are important to the employees and the organization. This message should let the employees know that they are not alone or forgotten. Making sure the employees understand that the company is involved will also insure the employees that are not trapped that they would not be of less value if they were trapped in a situation like this one. Employees need to know that they count in any situation and that their safety is of high regards to the company. Before any messages are delivered the speaker should make sure they are ready to cover all of the important points. The speaker must listen as well as speak so that they know what the audience wants to know and what they are expecting to hear. After the message is delivered the speaker will need to listen to the response to ensure that the audience received the message correctly. Giving and receiving feedback to and from the audience is also important because it gives you an idea of what the audience may want to know in the next informative speech. In conclusion when speaking to a group of people or to an individual face-to-face it is important to put one’s self in their shoes and understand what information is needed. During the Chilean Copper Mine Collapse there were several hundred people involved in the process, so remembering the different roles of the people involved was imperative. What the families of these miners needed to hear and know during this incident made all the difference on how they would react. Letting the employees know that they were not alone in this incident makes all the difference in the world to them, their families, and their friends. When dealing with an incident of this magnitude everyone affected needs to be involved and sending the right message is vital to the health and well being of the people the incident affects. References Cheesebro, T. , O’Connor, L. , Rios, F. (2010). Communicating in the workplace. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Chapter 4 9 Draft communications For the families of the trapped miners I chose a face-to-face approach Hello everyone, I would like to take a moment to address the incident at hand and to inform you all as to what we are doing to cooperate with the rescue teams. First Minera San Esteban Primera would like you all to know that he is sorry he could not be here today to address the situation himself but he has asked that I let you all know that he to is concerned for the well being of the miners trapped as well as their families. What we know so far is that the miners have been located and appear to be some 2,300 feet underground. The rescue teams have made contact with the gentlemen and they are in great spirits and will be able to communicate with their families soon. Rescuers have developed a way to send and receive supplies to the trapped men so they are now able to receive â€Å"food, clothing, books, letters and music from an ipod† (Spotts, P, 2010). This situation is going to take some time as the rescuers work on getting the trapped men to the surface. We are all going to try to make them as comfortable as possible and keep you all informed as the process continues. Does anyone have any additional questions? For the employees internal news release I chose an e-mail Dear employees, Hello everyone, I would like to take a moment to address the incident at hand and to inform you all as to what we are doing to cooperate with the rescue teams. Minera San Esteban Primera is fully involved in the rescue attempts and is giving full cooperation as needed. What we know so far is that the miners have been located and appear to be some 2,300 feet underground. The rescue teams have made contact with the gentlemen and they are in great spirits and will be able to communicate with their families soon. Rescuers have developed a way to send and receive supplies to the trapped men so they are now able to receive â€Å"food, clothing, books, letters and music from an ipod† (Spotts, P, 2010). This situation is going to take some time as the rescuers work on getting the trapped men to the surface. We are all going to try to make them as comfortable as possible and keep you all informed as the process continues. We will be having an open conference for the employees later this week to address any of your additional concerns. All employees will be able to speak to a supervisor if needed and counseling will be made available to those who would like it. I will send out an additional email later with the date and time of the conference. Thank you, (Your name) Communications lead.