Wilkinson on searching for your audience's needs

Here's my attempt to highlight and summarise the ten primary vehicles for searching for your audience’s needs from Pages 312 to 321 of The Seven Laws of the Learner

Overview
A. Direct methods to find the need
1. Direct questions
2. Low-key interviews
3. Anonymous questionnaire
4. Interaction with family members
5. Personal visits to the student's home or work
6. Personal observation

B. Indirect methods to find the need
1. Books.
2. Magazines and newspapers.
3. Research studies and polls.
4. Individuals interacting with the public.


A. Direct methods to find the need
Use those best fitted to your personality, class and circumstances.

1. Direct questions. When the situation is casual and relaxed, ask your need-seeking questions directly. Here are a few ideas.

“Betty, I value your wisdom and insight and wonder if you could help me be a more effective teacher by telling what you think the three biggest problems are that people like you face today."

"John, I'm concerned that our class meet the needs of its members. Could you help me by giving two or three areas in your life that you wish we would address in the future?"

"Mr. Smith, what topics would you like to see taught during next quarter's classes?

Open-ended questions allow the student to be as personal as he wishes. People will respond to a sincerely asked question, especially when the teacher asks for help. Remove the threat and fear factor. Develop the regular habit of asking good questions and you'll be amazed how soon you have the right answers!


2. Low-key interviews. This method is less difficult than the first in that you don't ask questions directly or personally, but instead ask about general class needs:

"Martha, I noticed that our class seems to be feeling pressure lately. What do you think some of the reasons may be?"

"Frank, your kids are really growing up! How old are they now? What are the struggles kids their age seem to be facing these days?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith, did you happen to see the article on the front page of Sunday's paper reporting that Americans have never had more personal debt that today? How do you think debt is creating hardships for families in their midforties?"

Low key interviews can capture significant and practical insights that will give your content timeliness and personal interest.


3. Anonymous questionnaire. This is a most effective vehicle. A questionnaire can be controlled, involves more people that you could personally talk to, and asks questions on a variety of subjects. The key to its effectiveness hinges on three conditions.

First, the audience must know both the purpose and its ultimate use. It is for teacher's eyes only, or will the results be announced and discussed? Be aware that the latter purpose may reduce honesty.

Second, the audience must be convinced of the anonymity of the questionnaire. Any hint that they could be found out will tilt the response.

Third, the questions must be carefully constructed so that the responses present a true picture. The questions are as important as the answer. Frequently I'll distribute blank three-by-five cards with teh following open-ended questions and instruct the class to answer anonymously:

• The biggest problem I struggle with work is...
• Whenever my spouse and I get into arguments, it's usually about...
• My biggest personal disappointment during the past few years was...
• My greatest triumph as a person is...
• When I get angry with God, it's usually because...
• When I get to heaven, my biggest insight about what I should have been doing will be...
• If somebody could give me one good piece of advice about how to raise my kids, it would be about...
• Probably the area of my spiritual life that causes me the most problems is...
• Rate your Christian walk on a scale of 1-10. The one area in my Christian life where I stumble the most is...
• The sin I seem to wrestle with and rarely have the victory over is...
• On a scale of 1-10, how honest were you in answering these questions?

Spend a few hours with those cards-they represent a gold mine of need. Quickly you will be able to identify the top ten needs in areas such as your students' work, family, and spiritual growth... Aim each class at one of the top three felt needs. Never again will you have to wonder if a lesson will hit the mark.

4. Interaction with family members. There are two ways to approach this: (1) comments by the student about his family; and (2) comments by the family about the student.  Vague, general, and open-ended questions about a student's family can reveal volumes to the discerning listener.

5. Personal visits to the student's home or work. The best insights are frequently obtained through a brief, personal visit to a person's home or place of employment. It's the only real way to walk in someone else's shoes. Today's classrooms are so unnatural and structured that students seldom reveal their true selves. We have to look elsewhere for glimpses of reality. Home is where our masks crumble and where needs lie right on the surface. Attitudes, atmosphere, frame of mind, harmony or disharmony, order or disorder, all are apparent to those who care enough to look.

You cant cant meet a need if you don't know what is. If you want to know your students, look behind the doors of their homes and offices.

6. Personal observation. This method focuses upon those clues which are available during all of life.

First, the questions people ask in and after class reflect areas of inner interest and need.

Second, body language speaks so loudly it often can be heard above spoken words. Arms folded, hands over mouth, body slouched, torso leaning aggressively forward-all carry loud messages.

Third, class attendance is probably the most direct indicator of how well you meet the needs of your audience. People's presence or absence clearly denotes what they think of your class. The more helpful the class, the more people will come for help!

Fourth, class discussions reflect needs which require further consideration. Whenever students try to keep the ball rolling on a given subject, you know you've hit oil.

Fifth, after-class activities and conversations mirror the true interests and concerns of your class because they are neither required nor structured.

Those are the major direct methods of find the needs of your students.

B. Indirect methods to find the need

Unlike the direct approach, which puts you face to face with your audience, the indirect approach offers valuable information through other people's research and experience. Although the information will frequently give you solid and dependable insights, it must be evaluated carefully as it does not deal specifically with your class.

Collect information around two basic frameworks: (i) topics that you know most interest your class; and (ii) characteristics of the age group of your class members, noting their problems and trends. There are many available sources for this information, but here are a few of the primary ones:

1. Books. Regularly browsing the shelves in your Christian and secular bookstores gives a snapshot of the bestselling books, and therefore conveys where the current interests and needs lie. Ask the store manager what trends he's seeing and what types of books people in your class' age bracket are purchasing. At the time I was writing this book the top four bestsellers were about money, business, sex, and health. When is the last time you taught on money, business, sex, or health?

2. Magazines and newspapers. Because the magazine industry is so consumer-oriented and must meet the ever-changing interests of the American public, it frequently presents a panorama of the needs of your targeted audiences. Pay close attention to the types of articles they feature as well as the types of books they review and advertise.

Magazines include valuable articles, surveys, and Q&A columns. Remember, people only read what they are interested in. And whether or not you agree with advice columnists, keep a close eye on the subjects they repeat or for which they receive overwhelming responses. They're not the most-read journalists in America by accident.

Want a real eye-opener? Take any well-known magazine and look at the Q&A section. Those are the questions people are really asking. Next Sunday, teach God's answer to those questions. I guarantee you nobody will move.

3. Research studies and polls. George Gallup and George Barna frequently conduct polls to establish the true feelings and positions of the public on myriad subjects.

4. Individuals interacting with the public. Doctors, dentists, barbers and beauticians, counselors, psychologists, guidance counselors, police, teachers, principals, and a host of others have their fingers on the public pulse and can be interviewed about the trends they see. I make it a practice to ask such "pulse people" about the problems they see on the rise.