Minnesota Institute of Public Health

In many of the reality game shows on TV these days, there is some mechanism for contestants to Ask the Audience, when they need help with answers.

I would argue in our work we need to continuously ask the audience - those we serve -- about their needs, inclinations, trusts and distrusts, and perceptions. "Where do you get your information? How do you view this issue? What does this message say to do you? How could it be clearer? How can it be made better? What changes should we make?"

Part of our successful work in prevention is, it seems to me, is an engagement of the audience as partners, informers, consumers and helpers. They should drive what we do.

For example, in our social marketing work, if we target 12-14 year olds, we can make two key mistakes. One is, assuming we as middle age and above program people have a clue about what it's like to be 14 and growing up in Minnesota or the Midwest in 2010. We don't. The other mistake is, we can't and shouldn't hand the keys to our projects to 12-14 year olds. They have a great sense of their world, but they are not adolescent development experts or communications experts. We need to listen very thoroughly and genuinely, and at the same time own the duty to make programming decisions per our professional obligation.

In my view, program people either don't ask the audience enough, or take everything that is said as gospel and don't filter it with other evidence-based and research-based expertise.

Staying in touch continuously with the audience, the consumers, keeps our programming valid, and our work on target. It is in my mind a defining characteristic of good prevention programming.

How do you Ask the Audience in your work?