DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES

Week 11: CLIENTELE AND AUDIENCES IN COMMUNICATION

Learning Competencies

 Describe the clientele and audience of communication (HUMSS_DIASS 12-IIa-37)

 Distinguish the needs of individuals, groups and organizations, and communities (HUMSS_DIASS 12-IIa-
38)

Background

This lesson discusses the concept of “clientele and the audience” in the disciplines of communication
and how are these terms being defined. Here, you will learn about the varied needs of the different
audiences such as the individuals, groups or maybe organizations.

The discipline of communication is also called as communicology. In the process of communication, one
has to convince or persuade the people who are listening or giving attention which, we called as
audience. When you watch TV shows, read newspapers, or watch a film or watch a vlog you become an
audience. Can you recall the last time you watch a TV show and you are convinced with what they are
saying, or you are already influenced by them?

Audiences are also called receivers. They are formed by two factors which are:

•Social context- people of the same background with shared culture, understanding information needs.
•Response to media content- audiences from news show, variety show, soap opera and others.

To know the audience one who is talking to, one has to assess the fundamental background of like the
awareness and knowledge of the audience of the idea to be presented. For example, if the speaker
knows already that the audience has already several knowledge about the topic then he/she has to
provide more explanations, facts, and examples to support his/her points for the audience to be
convinced and persuaded.

Media sociologist Denis Mc Quail (1997) noted some ways to define who are the audience namely:

1. By place- audience in the case of newspaper.

2. By people- as when media content appeals to a certain age group, gender, political belief, or income
category.

3. By particular type of medium or channel involved- the audience of radio may differ from the audience
of television.

4. By the content of the message of a medium- talk shows and a soap opera with many different
audiences.

5. By time- as in daytime, primetime, or weekend audiences.

1. Individuals as Audience

Need: good communication skills to be able to establish good relationship.

 It is important that an individual understand what the other person is saying.

It also means that a person transmitting the information can clearly express their own needs and
concerns

Every day you engage in a communication. As one cannot escape it along the different levels of
communication whether intrapersonal, interpersonal, or in mass media. We do this for different
reasons. People communicate to be informed and to inform, to gain guidance for one’s own opinion and
to have an identity or to be a member within a group.

Research says that among the benefits one gets from communication are the following:

• Information and education

• Guidance • Socialization and relaxation

• Identify formation

• Security

• Build mutual relationship

2.Groups and Organizations as Audience –

Involves trust and cooperation.

Needs: can exchange ideas and gain more knowledge and understanding.

 It means that they can together arrive at a decision or course of action Organizations
communicate with others for a variety of reasons. Innet and Schewchuk in 1995 said that there is
communication of organizations. These are:

To inform- it is communicating to the audience like what you can do for them or what advice
you could give them or vice versa.

To build understanding- it is encouraging the audience to improve their lives like stopping from
smoking which appeals to their feelings and thinking.

To resolve conflicts- empathy can prevent conflicts as misunderstanding really exist in an

organization.

To present an idea- in an organization presenting an idea is a need but one has to know also the
correct manner of presenting it.

To lower barrier between groups and individuals¬- prejudices and discrimination may exist if
communication process is not done in a correct manner thus one has to know the audience well
3.Community as Audience

Needs: Must gain access to communication

• It means that a group of people living and interacting with one another in a particular environment.
Community is the most organic place we do communication. When you go out from your house and
interact with your friends, your neighbor or to everyone in your place you do communication to them.
But you still have to know that in the discipline of communication when you consider the community as
your audience you need to remember the following needs:

•Right language- use simple and easy to understand words.

•Time- extend more efforts to let them be understood the topic.

• Information background- if you need to persuade or convince them with your idea you need to know
their level of awareness of the topic.

•Awareness of interests¬- you need to know what the community likes or have interest to

•Education- people in the community acts as audience because of the reason that they need to know
about the topic