Posted by Jay Dampier | Posted in Communications, Science | Posted on 18-04-2010
Part of my work responsibilities at LUCAS is to bridge the gap between technical staff and more general audiences. A quick way to connect with your intended audience is to think about and employ schemata. You make an assumption about what the audience already knows, and build upon that assumption.
Here’s an example from “Made to Stick” by the Heath brothers. They demonstrate the power of using a schema. In this example they are attempting to describe a type of fruit.
Description option 1.
A pomelo is the largest citrus fruit. The rind is very tink but soft and easy to peel away. The resulting fruit has a light yellow to coral pink flesh and can vary from juicy to slightly dry and from seductively spicy-sweet to tangy and tart. Question: If you mixed pomelo juice half and half with orange juice, would it taste good?
Description option 2.
A pomelo is basically a supersized grapefruit with a very thick and soft rind.
In your communications can you think of examples where you can make accurate assumptions about your audience’s schemata and adjust your message to capitalize on those assumptions?
