Barnabas Piper's Blog, page 75

What Does "Know Your Audience" Even Mean?

One of the most popular pieces of advice for communicators these days is “know your audience”. This is sage advice. It’s also nearly useless. It’s such an open ended piece of counsel that all meaning as has escaped. What does it mean, and if it has a meaning, how do you do it?

THE WHAT
1) Determine if you have an audience.

This is so obvious that it often gets over looked. Is your subject matter of interest to people other than yourself?  Determining this is especially important if you are seeking to sell your work (e.g. get published or get advertisers on your site). If you want people to invest time and money in your product you must first make sure there are people who will do so.

2) Determine who the prospective audience is.

This is a demographic and the more specific the better. It could be “writers”, but “fiction writers” would be even better. It could be “women” but “young professional women” would be better. Sometimes this is determined very clearly by subject, for example Moody Publishers released a book recently called First Time Dad. Guess who the audience is for that one? Other times it is a broad audience, like with many fiction works. In this case using works similar to yours to position it will help you and the reader understand what this is supposed to be. Regardless of the subject, a project should not be undertaken or pitched until there is a clear understanding of who is the targeted recipient.

3) Determine what this audience wants and needs to hear.

Many authors misguidedly start here. They have an interest in something and so they write the assumption others will be interested as well . Writing your own interests is fine if you are writing for you, but if your aim is to help others or to get published it can’t be sole determining factor.  You must find the pulse of the audiences desires and needs (they’re often not the same thing).

THE HOW

How you go about doing these things is not neatly defined. It will depend on if you start with an idea or a group of people. Let’s look at these individually.

1) Starting with an idea

If you have an idea that you want to write about then you go through the three steps above. As laid out. You do so by reading widely and surveying readers on what they have read. It is enormously helpful to find objective reviewers of your idea and your writing (emphasis on objective, those who will object to bad ideas or poor writing). As you read and survey and get feedback you will begin to find a patterns that tell you if you have an audience and specifically who they are. The last things to consider are these.

A) What has the audience already heard?

B) How was it communicated to them?

C) Is your writing different in content and/or style?

2) Starting with an audience

My sense is that this more rare, but it’s not uncommon (business books, books for soldiers, books for moms, etc.). But starting with a defined audience can be really helpful because it nullifies numbers 1 and 2 above. It puts all the emphasis on to number 3, determining what the audience wants and needs to hear. The same three questions must be asked here just as they were previously.

A) What has the audience already heard?

B) How was it communicated to them?

C) Is your writing different in content and/or style?

Knowing your audience is the most effective way to communicate with them. It is vitally important. It can also be a tremendous amount of work. But the pay-off is there because it will give you direction, give you a goal, and shape your writing into something useful.

New Happy Rant: Eugene Peterson and What Are People Even Doing?

In this episode of the Happy Rant Podcast Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas exhibit their breadth and depth of ranting ability by tackling the week’s most pressing topic and a few that are rather mundane too.

Eugene Peterson and the Merritt-orious interview
Why do people insist on just writing him off?
What are People Even doing wearing pajamas on planes and eating like toddlers at dinner parties.

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Episode #151

7 Rules For When You Meet a PK

I am a PK (pastor’s kid). With that comes a certain set of expectations, especially from people in the church or who know my parents. Since my dad is fairly well-known, the awareness and expectations are heightened, but really they’re the same for every PK in their individual context. Expectations make for awkward interactions and introductions. Any PK will know what I’m referring to. For the rest of you, here are seven simple rules to follow when you meet a PK.

1. Do not ask us “What is it like to be the son or daughter of ____?”

How are we supposed to answer that question? Could you easily describe being the child of your parents? Unless you’ve had multiple sets of parents you don’t really have a point of comparison which makes this a tricky one. Remember, PKs are normal people with a different upbringing than you. Please treat us that way. We think of our parents as parents, nothing more.

2. Do not quote our dads to us.

This is really and truly annoying because it comes across as one of two things. Either you are proving your piousness by being so aware of the utterances of the beloved pastor, or you are being condescending and holding our parents’ words over our heads. Three points for you for remembering the sermon! It is neither impressive nor appreciated.

3. Do not ask us anything personal you would not ask of anyone else.

If, perchance, you have gained some knowledge of a PK through a sermon illustration or book or hearsay, it is best to keep it to yourself. We don’t want to talk to you about prom dates, football games, fishing trips, car wrecks, or anything else if we don’t know you. To ask a question based on knowledge that you gained in an impersonal manner makes you look like either a stalker or a reporter. Both are creepy.

4. Do not ask us anything about our dads’ positions on anything.

“What does your dad think about ____?” is a question no PK wants to answer – not about politics, the roles of women in the church, predestination, the use of drums in the worship service, spiritual gifts, race, the latest Justin Bieber incident, or anything else. We have opinions and beliefs, though. And we like to converse. So you could ask us what we think, like a normal person.

5. Do not assume you can gain audience with the pastor through us.

That’s what the church secretary or the pastor’s assistant is for. Please let us be his children. We usually don’t have the ability to make a meeting happen, and we almost never want to. We don’t get paid enough.

6. Do not assume that we agree with all the utterances of our fathers.

I know it’s hard to believe that any child could grow up to disagree with her parents, shocking even, but it does happen. It is not kind or safe to assume that our parents’ positions are ours. And when you find out we don’t agree, please refrain from being shocked or offended. We’ll let you disagree with your parents if you let us do the same.

7. Get to know us.

This is a good rule for anyone, but it especially pertains to PKs. Just as you want people to value your opinions, personality, and character quirks, so do we. More often than not you will get a surprise. Wow, that PK actually has a sense of humor! Who knew PKs could be so fun? Wait, he said what? Leave your assumptions at the door and let us be us. You’ll probably like what you find.

This is an excerpt from my book, The Pastor’s Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity. If you prefer listening to reading you can get the audiobook too. 

New Happy Rant: Patriotic Church, Paul Giamatti, Celebrity Encounters, and Camping

In this episode of the Happy Rant Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas overcome the challenges of worldwide and domestic travel to bring you the typical ranty goodness.

Churches and patriotic church services
The reformed church tradition of anti-patriotism
Barnabas holding the door for Paul Giamatti
Other celebrity encounters
Ronnie’s first camping experience in 23 years

Visit HappyRantPodcast.com to get your Happy Rant signature roast coffee from Lagares s Roasters AND to sign up for Live in Louisville, coming this October. It’s really happening, and we’d love to see you there!

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Episode #150

He Reads Truth – Mercy Triumphs Over Judgement

I have the privilege of contributing to He Reads Truth, a website of whose purpose is “To help men become who we were made to be, by doing what we were made to do, by the power and provision that God has given us to do it, for the glory of Jesus Christ.” They do this by providing scripture reading plans accompanied by reflections that can be accessed for free online or purchased as print books. For those of you looking to engage scripture in a fresh way – either because you are dried up or have been away from it, these studies/plans will refresh your soul and engage your mind.

What follows is one of the pieces I wrote on the book of James. You can find the full plan HERE.

James 2:1-13, Zechariah 7:9-10, Matthew 7:1-5, Romans 13:8-10

Most of us aren’t murderers or thieves or adulterers. Those sins are the “worst” of sins, the extra-double-plus bad ones. Those are the sins that clearly break God’s law. We don’t do those things. (I mean, unless you count bitterness, coveting, lust, or pornography. Moving on quickly, though.)

Yet we’re all law-breakers in one overarching way: we lack love. Wait, what? Yes, a lack of love and a lack of mercy not only break God’s law, but this is where all law breaking comes from.

James brings this to our attention by describing favoritism in the church. A wealthy person receives honor while a poor person is ignored and pushed to the fringes. The richly attired person is moved front and center while the shabby person is asked to sit in the back. In our context today, this kind of attitude and behavior dons other garments—racial favoritism, gender favoritism, generational favoritism, and cultural favoritism. We are all inclined to favor one kind of person over another. And in so doing, we fail to love as Christ loved.

We think of “love your neighbor as yourself” as the Golden Rule. That’s a cute, shiny phrase, but it undersells what Jesus calls one of the two greatest commandments. This must mean love is deeper and broader than we normally think of it—more active and big and robust and committed, not simply romantic or feely. Love must be an attitude and a perspective, even a lifestyle. It must be a shaping, defining force.

When we lack love, we judge, whether or not we are in any position to do so. We judge others more harshly than we would like to be judged and for the very things we fail at daily. We forget we will be held to the very standard by which we judge others. We are blinded by the log in our own eye while we make much of the sawdust in someone else’s.

We are all law-breakers because we lack love. For this reason, we deserve judgment and we need mercy. We need it foremost from Jesus, and we have it.

Christ’s mercy has already triumphed over judgment. But has it done so in our lives? Do we share that mercy forward and do we receive it from others? Are we shaped by it or by the desire to judge others in order to position ourselves as something we are not?

New Happy Rant: Therapy, Ben Sasse, and Adult Gamers

In this episode of The Happy Rant podcast the hosts are all back together again for a delightful reunion. They find their stride and get right back to discussing pressing topics like the following:

LIVE IN LOUISVILLE IS HAPPENING
What’s with the therapy episodes (as per a former host)?
Why do reformed folks LOVE Ben Sasse so much?
Our favorite old school video games
Adult gamers

Visit HappyRantPodcast.com to get your Happy Rant signature roast coffee AAAAAAAaaaaaand to sign up for Live in Louisville, coming this October.

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Episode #149

When Evil is Good

Most parents seek to protect their children from evil. We don’t want our children to be frightened, harmed, or attracted by it. But is a parent’s protective instinct always right? Is there a time we should expose our children to evil for their good?

Imagine Frodo on his quest to reach Mount Doom but without orcs, Gollum, ring Wraiths, or Sauron’s eye. That’s not a quest. It’s a business trip.

Imagine the Pevensie children entering Narnia and meeting Aslan except without Edmund’s betrayal, the stabbing on the stone table, and the battle with the White Witch. Aslan would be a nice kitty, and it would end with a happy picnic.

Imagine Harry Potter heading off to Hogwarts to learn wizardry but never encountering Voldemort or any of his minions. We’d have ended up with seven books about pubescent crushes, mythical creatures, and quidditch. Come to think of it, that sounds a lot like Twilight on broomsticks

In the greatest stories it is evil that crystalizes and congeals the good. Only in the face of evil does character, quality, and morality step forth and play the hero. Without evil we are left with nebulous characters of ambiguous depth and uncertain morals. Without evil there is no real decision to be made as to which character we resonate with and which we would want to be.

A child ought to be scared of the scary, horrified at the horror, saddened by the tragic, but most of all delighted by the delightful and gladdened by the good. If we keep evil, the safe kind, the story kind, from our children then the good loses its luster. Evil is the backdrop against which good shines brightest, whether it be courage, sacrifice, fidelity, friendship, love, perseverance or any other truly good quality.

What is more, if we remove the evil, the good might cease to exist altogether. Without evil Frodo never would have left the Shire, the stone table never would have broken, and Harry never would have had the fortitude to sacrifice himself for the greater good. And this is true in every great story, including the greatest one. What need would there have been for a savior without a serpent?

Our children need evil. Without it they may miss the truly good.

New Happy Rant: The Ted Kluck Story

In this episode of The Happy Rant Ted takes his turn sharing stories. Barnabas interviews him about his life and becoming a writer and teacher. Some of the highlights and topics they hit on include:

Sports biographies and George Plimpton
Accidentally finding his way to writing
Poetry performances by a woman in a red dress
Being a junk mail copy writer
Sports writing for ESPN
Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield stories
Emergent church and Kevin DeYoung
Self confidence vs. ego
That guy in your MFA

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Episode #148

New Happy Rant: Being John Piper’s Son and What PKs Face

In this episode of The Happy Rant Ronnie interviews Barnabas about being John Piper’s son and what some of the challenges of being a ministry kid in the spotlight are. They cover the following:

When was it obvious that dad was famous?
Famous theologians over for dinner
Weird experiences with weird fans
Pressures PKs face

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Episode #147

We could Have Been Friends

I grew up in the Phillips Neighborhood of Minneapolis just a few miles from where Philando Castile was inexplicably shot and killed by a police officer. I graduated from Minneapolis South High School, an inner city school even fewer miles from that spot. He grew up across the Mississippi River in Saint Paul. I didn’t know him, but I might have. I might have played little league baseball or peewee football against him. We were peers.

But we were not peers.

I would regularly catch a ride home from South High after football practice with a couple black teammates from my neighborhood. One of them, our quarterback, had an old Honda a few of us would pile into. More than once, though, he tossed me the keys and said, “You drive.” I never thought much of it at the time. The one time I asked why he simply said, “The cops won’t pull you over.” That was an eye opener, but my eyes were only cracked open.

I didn’t realize what lay beneath those words. I still don’t, really. But America is teaching me. What my quarterback was telling me without telling me was that he was afraid. He was telling me of injustice I knew nothing of but that happened all around me all the time.

I drove like a bat out of hell all around Phillips neighborhood and the surrounding area. I treated stop signs like speed-up signs. I treated the interstate like the Brickyard 500. And I never got pulled over. If I had I would’ve feared the wrath of my parents, not injustice by the people in uniform or the government they represented. Call my luck dumb if you want, but my teammates found it safer to have me, the sole white boy in the car, drive the three miles from school to our neighborhood.

I wasn’t even peers with the young men I shared a uniform with, who I shared the sweat and blood of practice on gravelly field with, who I shared the misery of many losses and the ecstasy of a few wins with. I was something different than they were. Equality stopped at the gate of our run down stadium.

I could have been teammates with Philando Castile. I could have been neighbors. I could have been friends. But we would never have been equals even though we were equal. I am white in America. He was black, just like my South High Tiger teammates.

I grew up white in the North, about as far north as the contiguous forty-eight go. Philando Castile was killed there; this is not solely a Southern problem. We didn’t solve our problems with the Emancipation Proclamation or with Brown vs. the Board of Education or with the dream Martin Luther King Jr. had or with electing of our first Black President. We didn’t stop the hate or the inequality.

The murder of Philando Castile was not the first we have seen, but it quite literally hit closer to home for me than others. I have driven that street. I know that place. It shouted at me that all is not right and that my whiteness allows me to coast through life without really feeling or even noticing that. I don’t feel guilty for being white – that was not a choice. But I do feel responsible for the position I have been given. The position behind the wheel of that Honda that was not mine at seventeen-years-old and the position to speak now.

I do not have a solution. I do not have a balm. I do not even have a conclusion to these thoughts. How can I? A conclusion is the wrapping up and tying off of something. This is not wrapped up. It is ongoing. It continues. What happened to Philando could happen today or tomorrow in your neighborhood or mine, and sadly it probably will. I simply hope people will notice and do what we can to call for change, to participate in change, to be change. Maybe these memories and these thoughts will be an impetus for that.