Analyze
Know Your Humans
Story
Who’s Your Audience?
Duolingo didn’t start out as a viral sensation. It was just another language-learning app until it found its stride on TikTok by speaking the language of its users and meeting their needs expertly. By turning its green owl mascot, Duo, into a chaotic, funny, and deeply relatable character, Duolingo connected with millions of Gen Z users.
They didn’t go viral by guessing—they got curious. They watched how their audience talked, laughed, and learned. Then they adjusted everything—tone, timing, visuals, even their mascot—to match.
“What they [Duolingo] really do well is motivation,” says Kirsty Gibson. “Ultimately learning a language is learning a language—it’s not like you’re reinventing the different words that people have to learn, but they’re reimagining the way in which you’re engaging people.”
- Learn your audience’s preferences, quirks, concerns, and interests.
- Craft your message to address those, either explicitly or implicitly.
- Draw a clear connection between your request and a benefit to your audience.
Main Idea
Good Communication Is Always About the Audience
You might be the one creating the message, but your audience is the one interpreting it. Success isn’t about how hard you worked on it—it’s about whether they understand it, care about it, and know what to do next.
Your ideas can be powerful, but only if they land with your audience. If you don’t understand their knowledge, expectations, and reactions, your message might fall flat—or misfire entirely.
Agenda
What You’ll Learn in This Chapter
- Identify your primary and secondary audiences
- Understand what your audience knows, feels, and needs to do
- Craft messages that make saying yes easy
Reasons
How to Know & Reach Your Audience
1. Who’s in the Room (or Inbox)?
Every message has at least one primary audience—the main person or group you’re targeting. Most messages also have secondary audiences: colleagues who are copied on communication, e.g., stakeholders who hear the presentation later, or customers who view a summary slide.
Do some background research to determine the most effective audience for your message. Asking that nice guy in accounting to approve your budget may be most comfortable, but if only Karen can actually approve it, write to Karen.
Digital and public communication is rarely private. If it’s recorded, forwarded, or posted, others may encounter it. So plan for that wider reach.
The Duolingo team didn’t just target language learners—they targeted language learners on TikTok. They knew the platform’s users weren’t looking for grammar tips—they were looking for laughs, trends, and relatable chaos. That meant rethinking everything about their tone and delivery.
2. What Does Your Audience Know / Feel / Do?
KNOW
Don’t assume your audience shares your context or vocabulary. If you use acronyms or jargon your audience doesn’t understand, or omit crucial details, they may feel confused or annoyed and tune out. This phenomenon, The Curse of Knowledge—asserts that once we know something, we forget what it’s like not to know it.
Imagine if Duolingo had launched with educational jargon instead of memes. “Interactive lexical scaffolding” wouldn’t have gone viral. Duo threatening to eat your family if you skip your Spanish lesson? That did. They dropped the academic language and spoke like humans.
“The more you know, the harder it is to write clearly.” –Steven Pinker
Jargon Example
Assumes:
All ICs should submit their EOD by COB.
Provides:
All independent contractors: submit your end of day updates by 5 p.m.
FEEL
Is your audience skeptical, stressed, enthusiastic, distracted? Emotions influence how people receive your message. If you anticipate resistance, address concerns openly and with empathy. Attention and compassion can make you a powerful leader.
If you’re delivering bad news, acknowledge the audience’s frustration and seek to mitigate harm with compassion, offers of reasonable help, or links to resources. If you’re making a request, show how it benefits them and the organization. If you know your audience has constrained resources, acknowledge that and show appreciation for their efforts despite challenges. Meet emotion with respect.
Duolingo brilliantly tapped into emotion—not by being earnest, but by being hilarious. Their brand became a release valve for the stress of language learning. They didn’t just teach—they entertained. And the result? Millions kept coming back.
People want to feel positive and optimistic about the future. Instead of complaining about challenges, propose specific solutions. Paint a picture of a better future and show how your plan gets them there. Position yourself as a partner in progress, not a drain on resources. Applying this concept, known as framing, will help your audiences see how your communication benefits them.
DO
Some messages aim to motivate or convince. Others simply aim to inform, direct, or clarify. In both cases, your audience still needs to know what to do next. A meeting recap might ask participants to update a shared doc. A report might tell readers where to find more data. A policy update might remind staff to log into a training module. These aren’t pitches or pleas—they’re instructions that make action possible. Even the clearest information falls flat if the audience doesn't know what to do with it.
Duolingo’s calls to action are audience-smart. Their TikToks don’t beg people to download the app—they make people laugh so they go looking for it. When your audience feels understood.
3. Make Saying Yes Easy
How you craft your message can make saying yes hard or easy. Strategically provide everything your audience needs to decide in your favor. Sure, they can think through the benefits and risks of your proposal or do a quick web search to get the information they need, but why should they?
Duolingo didn’t expect people to be curious—they made curiosity effortless. Their short videos deliver punchlines, not pitches. The humor builds affinity, and that affinity makes it easy to say yes to opening the app, subscribing, or sticking with a streak.
If you make saying yes easy, audiences will want to engage—even without being asked directly. The table below provides a few examples for you to follow.
“Never make your audience do work you could do for them.”
Task
Take Five Before You Communicate
- Who is my main audience?
- What do they already know?
- How might they feel?
- What do I want them to do?
- What would make it easy for them?
Every message is a chance to show your audience that you see them. Like Duolingo, your success lies in being relevant. That’s what makes communication powerful—and human.