Principle: Relevant

Listen to the audience

Tactics to apply to make your communications relevant

Listen to the audience

WHO communicators must stay aware of what a target audience knows about a health issue. Listening gives communicators insight into what people think about an issue and how they may act based on their understanding. Communicators can learn about audience knowledge, attitudes and practices from many sources and draw from the strengths of each.

Learn by listening

Communicators can listen in a variety of ways to gain insight into whether people find the health topic relevant.

Listening can identify:

their level of interest in the issue;
their perceptions and attitudes about the topic or risk and the promoted action (behaviour change, policy adoption, etc.);
their current position or behaviours responding to health issue;
the concerns about the health issue of at-risk audiences and the organizations that support them;
how the media portrays the issue;
the focus of conversations on social media; and
any inaccurate coverage or misinformation.

Listen to public opinion

WHO communicators can review reports from sources that track public opinion.

WHO’s headquarters Department of Communications (DCO) produces Health News Daily Digest, which summarizes media reporting and social media conversations.
Regional and country offices, ministries of health, and other local responder agencies may have methods for recording public opinion, including media monitoring systems.
Research institutes and media sometimes conduct public opinion surveys covering health topics. These can provide background context related to broad public perception of global health issues.

Listen to enquiries

To learn about target audience questions and concerns, WHO communicators can check sources that process enquiries by people seeking information.

This can help provide information about levels of concern among at-risk populations and also among those who are not at risk.

Regional and country offices may have partner organizations with hotlines or consumer enquiry phone lines. The questions that people ask help WHO identify the gaps in existing information, which can be filled through WHO communication materials.
The weekly DCO Google Analytics report on how users interact with the WHO website can identify content of most interest to users. WHO staff can sign up to receive the report.

Listen to conversations

WHO communicators can investigate less traditional sources of information, such as local talk radio shows. A question and answer conversation on a radio show can provide insight about the main concerns of listeners. Communicators can also determine if the guidance offered to listeners by other sources is consistent with WHO recommendations.

Listen to partners

WHO partners, including less traditional partners such as religious groups and business associations, provide different perspectives based on their networks and listening methods. Communicators should be aware of what partners believe the target audience thinks and needs. WHO’s Health News Daily Digest regularly reports on current partner messaging. With timely information from this source, WHO communicators can monitor whether partner messaging aligns with WHO information, advice and guidance. In addition, WHO communicators are encouraged to engage directly with counterparts in partner agencies to ask about their understanding of decision-makers’ knowledge, attitudes, and actions related to the health topic.