Strategically Communicating

‘Death toll Rises in Cameroon’s Anglophone region unrest’ (Aljazeera)

Here’s what happened: Cameroon’s Unification Day took place this past Sunday, October 1st, in an effort to begin reuniting the divided country. The intended national day of celebration instead resulted in the deaths of 17 Cameroonian protesters. The deceased felt marginalized by the French-speaking majority, and were demanding independence for the English-speaking region of the country before security forces opened fire on the crowd. In the days following, the country’s internet was blocked by government officials for the second time this year. Sunday’s protest is just one of many that Cameroon has seen since last October.

How I relayed the story: an email went out to my mom and coworker (Marisol), my friend Anya received a Facebook message, and my ex got the news through a text. As far as mediums go, I hit the nail on the head with my mom as she responded promptly with points of connection and follow up questions. My ex is not a native English speaker, and he hates reading. Despite communicating through text message which works for him, the content wasn’t palatable because my write up was too long.

Though I feel most confident communicating through writing, I think that my audience would have found the story most accessible in the form of a video as ¾ are visual learners. Key takeaways: it’s about your audience; keep it short and sweet.