We live in a noisy age: telephones ring, radios blare and advertising clutters our landscapes. It sometimes seems like every body in the world is clamoring for our attention; everyone has something to sell.

Our mail and email boxes are filled with sales pieces, our ears with the constant din of television promotions, and our eyes with ever more intrusive signs.

These unwanted messages are as welcome as weeds in our garden, and are treated the same way.

Yet the fact remains, it’s essential to let others know about your products, services and ideas. But how do you get your message heard through all that racket?

First, by identifying who you are trying to reach, then speaking to that specific, well-defined group. The first rule of good communications–no matter the medium–is know your audience. Whether you are trying to reach one, or many, the rule still holds.

But how do you find out about your audience?

By using the two most underrated communication skills: asking and listening. When you talk, you say what you know. When you listen, you find out what the other person knows. Now you are wiser.

What’s your listener’s most important need?
Can you relate your message to that need?
What are their major interests?
What are their most pressing problems?

By taking the time to understand their needs, interests and problems, you are able to relate your message to what most concerns them.

Understanding who you are talking to, allows you to say what you need to say with their interest in mind, so it appeals to them and they listen more carefully.

When Apple brought out the dual chip computer, they said simply “What’s an Intel chip doing in an Apple? More than it ever did in a PC”. Right to the point and effective.

The trick is to whisper when everyone else is shouting. Also to speak so clearly to those you are trying to reach, that they really hear you.