KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE’S NEEDS!

(Or, If you don’t have air to breath, you don’t care about

your hair-doo.)

Manslow’s Hierarchy of needs

Rule #1

• When you are arguing to persuade someone to come over to your point of view, it’s important to make sure that all the needs of your target audience below what you are proposing are being met.

For Example:

• Your claim is that more money should be given out of our taxes to build dog parks.

• That would be a need way up in the “Belonging- Love” part of the needs hierarchy.

• (since pets fill those needs.)

• If your audience needs food, shelter, warmth

• (those are the Physiological Needs, bottom of the stack)

•

• (You Know…)

• (…THE BASICS)

• If any of the needs below• “Belonging- Love” are not being met

by the audience:

• That would be:

• #1 The “Physiological Needs”

• #2 The “Safety Needs”

• If those lower needs are not met,

• Then they will not be sympathetic or receptive to your argument.

Visual Example:

For this audience

This is not a need .