Know your audience.
That’s what almost every writing coach or
speaking mentor will tell you. If you want to get your message across with the
biggest punch, you need to understand who will be receiving that message, and deliver
it accordingly.
When Sweetie and Peaches were ages 5 and 3,
I wanted them to grasp how important it was to wear seat belts the whole
time they were riding in a car. This was back in the day when kids were out of
infant car seats by the time they were 2. The next step was a booster seat,
which was basically a raised platform to sit on where the child was held in
place by the vehicle’s lap-belt/shoulder-strap combination. It was often
uncomfortable.
So one day after I had buckled them into
the back seat and before I had started the car, I told them a story that had
been in the news that week. I thought it was relevant and timely.
I
want to tell you about a little boy your age. He was riding in the back seat of
his Mommy’s car. He wasn’t wearing his seat belt. Then, his Mommy couldn’t help
it but, the car she was driving crashed and the little boy … he wasn’t wearing
his seat belt and he flew right out the window.
Three-year-old Peaches was completely
spellbound. Her eyes grew bigger when I mentioned the crash. At the end of
the story, her little mouth opened in awe and her eyes grew as big as they
could get. She turned to look at the window and then turned back to me.
In wonder she said, "He could fly?”
That’s when I knew my message had gone over
her head and right out the window.
**********
Still chuckling!
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha--oh the mind of a child.
ReplyDeleteAnd your point is well-made. Good job putting this out while on the road--a good way to remind yourself that, "I am a writer."
Love it! LOL Good lesson, too- kids latch on to what they want to hear. I guess we all do that, don't we? ;)
ReplyDelete