The message imperative: people ar overwhelmed with information. Reach them by discovering and speaking to their real needs.

One of the paradoxes of the age of technology, with the speed and volume of information it permits, is that people are now drowning in useless and irrelevant messages. Although the computer and the Internet have made it possible for every single one of us to publish even our most inane thoughts via web sites, e-mails, blogs and other channels, very little has been done to help people absorb all that information.

The inescapable fact is that it takes as long to read a page of type in the 21st century as it did when the printing press was invented. Pity the poor consumers of information looking to discover the facts and observations they truly care about. They have become the victims of those senders who choose to interrupt their lives with messages the senders regard as critical, whether or not the audience agrees.

We must withstand the information assault and do the best we can to cope. The one responsibility, however, that we as message senders should assume is to create compelling, coherent messages matched to the real needs of our audience. Otherwise, we have violated the first rule of communication: Have something to say, and say it well.

People crave clarity and meaning in the multiple messages they receive. It is incumbent upon us communicators to ensure that our messages are crystal clear. Further, we are obligated to choose those communication channels that are most appropriate to the audience's needs.

That means always looking at the communication problem from the audience's perspective. What information do those people really need? How do they prefer to receive it? What are their unmet information needs? Today's workers are impatient, time-constrained and perceptive. Communicators need to appreciate that and use the data-gathering tools, such as interviews and surveys, that will provide the answers.

For me, the need to understand and effectively address the audience's real needs as consumers of information is the single most important imperative that has emerged in the 35 years of IABC's existence.

Roger D'Aprix is a communication consultant and author. In 1998, IABC named him one of the most influential thinkers in the profession in the past 25 years.