Analyzing Your Creative Audience: Characteristics and Traits
Season 1; Episode 3- Characteristics and Traits
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This episode’s transcript on Analyzing Your Audience’s Characteristics and Traits:
Welcome to Beyond the Template, the more than “just talk” podcast, created by me, Caroline Amelie- a writer, artist, counselor, and learning designer.
This podcast was built for those who are ready to tackle something new in their lives, but need small steps, encouragement, accountability and community to get there.
Today I am starting my good news of the week segment- and man do we ever need it during these times! I’ll share some design takeaways from a surprising source, personal struggles I’ve experienced lately on my own creative journey, and continue with our weekly check ins by discussing why the characteristics and traits of your audience is a crucial next step in completing a project successfully. We will finish up with the story of my expander of the week and then end with (yes, again) some additional homework to do before next time.
It’s Friday, thank you so much for joining me today! I really can’t express how grateful I am to my listeners, followers, and supporters. You are who I am doing this for!
Can we all just take a moment together? I’m mentally exhausted from everything going on right now. How are you feeling? What are you doing to take care of yourself? I hope this actually finds you doing some self-care, if you can. Maybe just give yourself a brain break and take a walk or take a moment while listening. Either way let’s take a breath together. I mean it. Breathe in…and out. Alright… let’s go.
The first draft of this episode started like the last ones but I am changing things up to sharing positive news first.
So, here’s the GOOD NEWS of the WEEK!
ALL good news links can be found in my blog AND on YouTube if you are curious to read more. Here are some of the top headlines that I read which might uplift and inspire you this week…each is happening in the USA.
- At a new ‘Habitat for Humanity factory,’ high school students earn credit building tiny homes for neighbors in need in the state of Colorado.
- Johns Hopkins students’ invention prints braille beer labels for local nonprofit in the State of Maryland.
- Teachers Getting Student Loan Help to Tackle Staff Shortages in the State of New Jersey.
- Eight-time Grammy winner, Herb Alpert, donated $1 million to a Los Angeles repair shop that is publicly funded– This shop repairs students’ instruments for free. There is a documentary about this called, “The Last Repair Shop”.
I also found an article which lists a ton of ways to expand your mind and understanding about Hispanic Heritage Month… including some amazing virtual tours… something I absolutely love. I checked them all out but specifically enjoyed the AirPano website (www.airpano.com) tours of Chichen-Itza in Mexico, Cuba underwater and Iguazo Falls in Argentina. My learning design mind appreciated the easy navigation, large font labels, multiple settings offered, pop out map of what I was looking at, and the option to STOP the animation and instead manipulate the images on my own. I approve of this fun site!
It really does help balance me out to know that while so many things are going terribly wrong, and so much feels out of our control… there are good things happening around us at the exact same time. I hope this helped you all feel a tiny bit better too.
For my listeners who are just joining us, welcome! Make sure to check out the last two episodes to catch up with our group of creatives. For those who have been following along, at this point you may have finished up analyzing needs for your project- first identifying them and then connecting them to problems you want to address either for yourself, your loved ones, your audience, your customers, or your community.
Speaking of community, votes are in from last week’s prompt! And… only one person voted (haha). Shout out to Mattie in North Carolina this week for being an outstanding fellow entrepreneur and creative who has not failed once to support me on this journey. You know how grateful I am. If you want to check out her awesomeness, you can find her on Instagram @darkforestweaver … you can also check out her website at www.davenportedits.com These are both listed for you in the podcast description.
That being said, I think I will wait to officially name my listeners… once I have more active listeners (haha). ACTION is what we are doing! Responding, moving forward, taking steps. I will take this as my first actionable lesson as I continue. And I am grateful for it.
It’s turned cooler here in the Appalachian Mountains where I presently live so…
I immediately started watching all the spooky shows. Some people put their Christmas trees up on November 1st in the USA; I like to start celebrating Halloween as soon as it feels like Fall.
I was craving (pun-intended) some spooky themed baking shows and ended up diving into four different ones, but my favorite has to be Halloween Wars… because it’s more than baking. Three expert artists (a cake baker, a candy maker, and a pumpkin carver) have to partner up together to create something fantastical, cohesive and with design excellence. It’s a very hard challenge.
Unlike most of these shows, where “I’m number one” ego is the vibe (one person with their chosen assistant battling other individuals), this show highlights the difficulties most of us face in the real world- where we have to ask ourselves the questions, “How the hell am I supposed to work with other driven visionaries as a team when I’m already pretty excellent on my own? How can we come together to create something that is actually better than if I did it all by myself?” With my designer ears perked I grabbed the following takeaways to consider these questions:
- I heard one competitor say… “Up until now I’ve never lost… WE have to do better”… I think what he actually lost was sight of how to ensure everyone’s talents were being optimally used. This will only leave you off balance. Putting yourself first can sometimes be a weakness in terms of creativity and innovation. I used to hate working with people that had different strengths and approaches than me. But I now see that this is actually the best sort of partnership. We shouldn’t be looking for someone just like us, we should be looking for someone who is everything we are not.
- Like this first competitor, I noticed that others weren’t committing to planning out their concept and jumped in without considering every voice in the process. One team jumped in without involving their pumpkin carver entirely, and he had to (very awkwardly) speak up part way through. It will always be obvious when something is tacked on without evolving and adapting the whole concept. It’s okay to change your mind! Just make sure everything and everyONE else follows the pivot.
- I noticed that many competitors kept trying use as many cliche elements as possible in their piece which might have been individually “popular” but together really didn’t make sense for the narrative they were trying to sell. Sometimes less is more. I see this often in learning design- where experts put every single concept into a course, or they try to focus only on concepts based on popular trends. In a sea of content, it is always the unique perspectives and experiences you put into your work which will add quality and depth. If you know a lot about a lot of things… make something for each area AND each audience. Which is why the research phase is so crucial.
- I saw myself in a competitor who spent literal days making individual bricks for a structure, he even created his own measuring and cutting tools for this technique. But after it was all said and done, he ended up forgetting to build the entire back of his piece. I personally battle getting hyper focused on the details versus the overall project. Even now, when I should know better. I learned in art school that we must first define things generally, and then dive into the details. Examples of this can be found in both figure drawing and sculpting. You must capture energy, movement, emotion, tension and large masses of the work before focusing in on features, textures, etc. In learning design, you need to have identified the overall objectives before outlining the content needed to reach them. This podcast is designed to follow this approach.
- Finally, one of the guest judges stated flat out, “If it (the sculpture) wasn’t told to us, we wouldn’t have been able to see it”- this, I think, separates art from design. Art is subjective. Let them interpret it. But with design, your creation should be easy for others to grasp in a way that is simple, direct and emotional. It should tell a story. That will always hit. Communication lines should be clear… thinking about who you are creating for, who will interact with it, and who it is meant to positively affect should all be considered… which lead me to consider my own project’s phase this week-Characteristics and traits.
Before we get going into these, here’s this week’s prompt:
VOTE on which creative competition you love the most! And, after you vote, please add any other top shows for creatives which are your favorites. Your choices are…
- The Great British Baking Show
- Face-Off
- Project Runway
- Ink Master
- Blown Away
- Making It
- Lego Masters
Alright, now… it’s time for me to be honest with you.
I have been struggling. In Episode 1, I explained I have generalized anxiety disorder… well here’s how it rears its head on the daily. Maybe you can relate.
I get very excited about “newness” and tend to dive in pretty quickly. I love researching and will collect massive amounts of it. And then soon I am overwhelmed by what I have gathered, I start doubting my initial plans, and I freeze up, and want to either give up and abandon the idea entirely, or start all over again. I think a ton of creatives feel this way. There is a major disconnect between the initial idea, and taking the time to get to the end, whatever that looks like. It is the middle that is hard.
This week I started really struggling with my initial creative project idea… which focused on self-development. Because I realized that while I have needs and problems to solve… they are connected to some larger issues which I’m not addressing. Wildly enough (or maybe not so wildly or ironically) the issues that I experienced this week are directly connected to my own characteristics and traits. Unfortunately, several not so supportive ones are getting in the way right now. I need to feel solid in what the hell I am doing (haha).
So I took a step back, and tapped into a more fun and less rigid brainstorm. I considered creators that I admire and to be honest am a fangirl of (yes even at 42). And, I asked myself: What are the characteristics and traits they have which I am so attracted to? Which ones do I want to have in myself? Here’s the list: Empathy, Intelligence, Humility, Consistency, Resilience, Commitment, Humor, Kindness, Open-Mindedness, Expressiveness, and (ahem) Confidence.
Characteristics and traits of you as a creator and that of your audience can make or break the success of your project. No one needs any more challenges in their lives right now, I am no different. I want to tap into as many of these supportive superpowers as possible. And I need to make sure that my audience’s own traits and characteristics connect with what I decide to move forward with.
I have said it before, but consistency is actually the single most common reason that creatives give credit for in their success. I have heard it too many times in interviews and behind the scenes footage to ignore this fact. They just don’t quit. So, there you go. I guess I have to just keep going (or swimming, if you know you know).
So next, I made a list of possible projects to relook at needs, problems, and those characteristics and traits. Here is was I considered making:
- Building a social community of creative individuals who are driven, hold vision, carry similar values, inspire and support one another, and love exploring ideas, cultures and places together.
- Moving forward with self-publishing a children’s book which I wrote an initial draft of at the beginning of the year. It’s very educational, sweet, and based on the lower Atlantic beaches and shores of the USA.
- Writing my first screenplay about the importance of plutonic female to female relationships throughout several decades– reflecting the trend we are seeing where women are shifting away from wanting traditional nuclear family units to instead desiring shared spaces and small living communities.
- Expanding from this podcast and songwriting into the world of voiceover. Or creating a side hustle. I heard too many times this year to count that I would be great at narrating both children’s books and meditation or self-care audio.
Each of these projects tap into that list of superpowers in some way or another. I also had to keep in mind that whatever I chose would be in addition to me preparing to sell my house, planning to live abroad, planning to move across the United States, self-producing this podcast each week (fun fact it takes me about 12-15 hours), managing client work, managing my business’ finances, admin, etc… and social media.
Before I continue, I have to talk about what it feels like to be a sensitive creative (a characteristic and trait) asked to push themselves to the max in ALL of the areas outside of their strengths. I have been seeing other creatives talk about this recently. This isn’t a comfort zone thing… this is a “Did you know that MOST of the entrepreneurs and influencers who make it big on socials have an entire team helping them? Give yourself a damn break already.” For example, I know of one famous Astrocartographer whose husband does all of her admin and filming (ALL of it, he’s basically half the business), her mom does her marketing, and she has hired others to do the rest.
But, when you are like me, totally untethered and without support, it is a lot. I don’t have these same privileges. I got pretty caught up in comparing to and competing with these other people online. If you also have felt this pressure, there is a reason for it! We should be working WITH our characteristics and traits vs trying to fit into a mold (or template, haha). This is why not everyone learns the same, not everyone studies the same, not everyone approaches action the same… when we figure out what characteristics and traits are supportive and challenging for our audience in connection to our work… that’s the sweet spot. Social media has really been taking its toll on me because I have been consistently pushing myself to be a different person and use foreign and uncomfortable tactics to connect with potential clients. Honoring myself, next week you will hear about my passionate pivot and the following week I will start creating content that makes me happy instead.
Now that you understand why characteristics and traits are important to consider, back to my project. Now what? I went back to reassess (hilarious that it’s only week three and I am already doing this) the needs and problems to solve for each project to unfreeze myself.
Let’s start with the children’s book since that was the first thing I worked on (I wrote it in January).
Needs? The only needs that were met in writing this were my own personal ones to be creative after years of dying in jobs that did not allow for much imagination, art, or design.
Problems to Solve? My book advocates for hermit crabs. Captured, painted, held in tiny plastic boxes, and sold off individually as pets. Fun fact, the hermit crabs you see in stores are ALWAYS wild. And they are extremely social. So yeah, there is a problem to solve, but it’s not connected to the needs presented.
Okay, how about the Voiceover freelancing?
Needs? Just me again, starving for creativity and expression in my life after years of mustering up the courage to actually share what I am thinking, feeling, and needing.
Problems to Solve? None. My uncle teaches a class on voiceover acting, and I have heard him say multiple times that everyone in his class thinks it’s an easy gig but it’s quite difficult to get into. It’s also HARD to commit to. Imagine having to speak perfectly, not breathe or spit or swallow or cough or sneeze… for 14 hours. Imagine having to say the exact same thing in 20 different ways until you are hoarse which only adds to your stress in trying for perfection because your voice is now your means of income. I still would love to do it though. Podcasting has been a fun challenge! I like challenges. But again, there are no problems to solve which are connected to the needs presented.
My screenplay started coming together this Summer, pushing me to even buy the software Final Draft.
Needs? This is me wanting to learn something new. Learning software is fun. It’s why heading into the eLearning space was a no brainer. But other than that, no needs were presented. Without strong needs, I can’t think of any problems this would solve either right now.
Finally, a new online community…an idea taking form through each Podcast Episode.
Needs? I have so many stories from friends and from who I follow online, of the absolute struggle it is to be creative in a world that doesn’t always support this innate need. I have watched others suffer with depression because they don’t have time to create, but spend their days as part of systems built to keep them down and zombified. I have also seen firsthand and heard others talk about how isolating it can be when you are the only creative in the room or at the table. Finally, with the rise of AI, creatives are now panicking that the decades of design experience they have accrued will be useless in a year. So, yes, I think there are needs. For myself, and for others.
Let’s list these needs. I can think of the following:
- Comparative- This group of people IS creative but in comparison to those they see who have made creativity their vocation and/or lifestyle… this group is falling short.
- Felt- You heard it. I have felt these needs in my circles and in myself.
- Expressed- I am not sure about others, but I have absolutely been expressing my needs for a more creative community and creative collaborators in my life.
- Anticipated- I DO think that with the rise of AI, there will be a mirrored rise in Humanity for connection and for community- both digital and face-to-face.
Needs done. Now let’s connect them to problems:
- What are the problems?
- I see a problem with the present online platforms that people are using. It’s too hard to create real, intimate quality connections through social media and even through platforms like Skool.
- I see a problem with the way events are designed which claim to help people connect to one another. I swear if I had a nickel for every event I’ve attended that was geared to extroverts… I would have retired and done this podcast much sooner. Approaching events which support each individual needs to be intentionally designed in a way that every person feels seen, welcomed, that they belong, that they contribute, and that they matter.
- What’s the purpose? We might not be able to prevent how the world is shifting, but if we embrace the changes, prepare for the inevitable, and come together… we will already have built the foundation by 2027.
- Is a new type of community the best solution? That’s something I am not sure of. This is where feedback from my listeners and followers will be key in this project’s coming to fruition. Be prepared to participate online with prompts in the next months! Because you, my listeners, ARE my audience for this.
Phew! Back in my learning designer brain now. For those who weren’t quite sure how to approach the reflection questions the past couple of weeks, I hope this brainstorming example helped.
Unlike the social media entrepreneurs and influencers who make me doubt myself, my weekly expanders have done nothing but to inspire. And this week’s is no different.
My expander this week is… Clara Barton.
Clara Barton was able to make shit happen in a world where she had to teach herself vocational skills. She also somehow managed to gain the attention and respect of the government officials and world leaders she worked alongside… at the same time when women did not have the right to vote.
Barton was born in 1821 in a small farming community. Her father was highly influential in her patriotism and humanitarianism, both characteristics and traits which led her to meet the needs of her community and country later on in her life.
Barton served as her brother’s nurse when he fell from the roof of a barn and sustained a severe head injury. She taught herself how to give him medications and bloodletting. She would not become a vocational nurse for some time though; in her early professional life she was an educator.
In 1855, she left teaching to become a clerk in the U.S. Patent office in Washington, D.C. She would be the first in this position to receive the same salary as a man. Being the first came with much abuse and slander from her male counterparts in the office. In D.C. she also worked with several other notables to advocate for the rights of women and minorities, including Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Sexism and political censorships unfortunately left Barton demoted to being a copyist and then fired. She would return to the Patent Office under the administration of President Abraham Lincoln.
The Baltimore Riot of April 1861 resulted in the American Civil War. After the victims were transferred to D.C. Barton, now forty years old, saw firsthand the pain and suffering of area women and soldiers she knew personally (some she grew up with and others she taught), she donated her own family’s clothing, food, and medical supplies to the wounded- eventually stockpiling supplies and using her own home as a storeroom. To keep afloat financially, she placed an ad in a local paper requesting community support and received many supplies in response.
Her mission grew and she began to travel to the field hospitals to deliver aid and medical care. There she gave care to injured soldiers returning from the front lines. She also read to them and helped them write letters home to their families. Putting their intense need as priority over bias… Barton cared for those fighting on either side of the war; both Union and Confederate soldiers alike, without discrimination or consideration of their side in the conflict.
After the war ended, Barton sent a petition to President Lincoln. She asked for his permission to answer the thousands of letters received by the War Department from relatives to missing or dead soldiers. With his approval, she founded the Office of the Missing Soldiers.
Her ultimate life achievement came twenty years after she started her mission. With the approval of the President Chester A. Arther, in May 1881, Barton, now sixty years old, officially founded the American Red Cross. Barton’s mission “of preventing and relieving suffering, here at home and around the world” continues through the American Red Cross today.
For more on Barton, check out the links in this episode’s description.
Alright now, let’s turn it back to you…
Here are the four questions that guided me this week, so grab your notebook, and see how they land for you. Also, please remember that these, along with this episode’s key concepts and takeaways can be found in my blog for you as a FREE digital download. This along with the full transcript. Links can be found in the podcast description.
Reflection question number…
- What are some general characteristics about yourself or your audience which could be relevant to this creative project, endeavor, or solution? These should include any identifies, financial means, and historical backgrounds.
- What are some specific characteristics about yourself or your audience which could be relevant to this creative project, endeavor, or solution? These should include any Competencies, attitudes, skills already aquired.
- What learning styles are preferred in yourself or your audience which will directly impact the success of this creative project, endeavor, or solution? Think about how you or they might prefer to approach learning new tasks and/or processing new information (what is most appealing to them?).
- What is your or your audience’s prior track record with achieving something new in their lives through creative solutions like the one you are hoping to build?
- What are some personal and social characteristics about yourself or your audience which could be relevant to this creative project, endeavor, or solution? These should include maturity level, motivation and attitude, expectations and aspirations, previous experience, innate talents and abilities, adaptibility
- What are some cultural characteristics about yourself or your audience which could be relevant to this creative project, endeavor, or solution? These should recognize the differing backgrounds and experiences which individuals bring in their acquisition of new experiences.
- What are some accessibility related characteristics about yourself or your audience which could be relevant to this creative project, endeavor, or solution? These should recognize the differing abilities which individuals bring in their acquisition of new experiences.
Thank you all for joining me! I hope you have fun exploring the characteristics and traits connected to your audience (whether it’s for you, your loved ones, your community, your students or customers)! Next week we’ll narrow things down. Not every single characteristic and trait will be relevant to your work. I’ll share more on my own creative journey and tell you about a man born into slavery who would become the first African American mechanical and electrical engineer after the Civil War – eventually holding more than 60 patents in the United States.
Thank you for listening to Beyond the Template! You are doing great. Keep it up. Keep it creative.
My name is Caroline Amelie LeBoeuf. I have a degree in art and in counseling and also professional level certificates in educational advising and learning design & technology. Roles I have carried include illustrator, photographer, writer, traveler, mentor, instructor and most recently entrepreneur!
If you are curious to learn further about the work I offer my clients, check out cameliedesigns.com, that’s cameliedesigns.com.
This episode’s digital download on Analyzing Your Audience’s Characteristics and Traits:
More from Caroline!
Check out MORE on this week’s “expander”
Listener Shout out! Mattie in NC
IG- @darkforestweaver
Website- www.davenportedits.com
GOOD NEWS of the WEEK!
Ways to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
Get SOCIAL with me! (connect with other listeners in the BTT community)
Need help in Analyzing Your Audience in Creative Work?
Let’s Connect!
Learn how you can Work with Me.
Book a FREE 30-minute ReSPARK session to explore how we define your needs fully.
Until next time – keep shining for those who would otherwise remain in the dark. Be the light!
