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Product Manager's Guidebook
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  • Guidebook
    • Welcome
    • Contribute
    • Donate
  • Prelude
    • A Note From The Author
    • How To Use This Guide
  • Introduction
    • Overview
    • What is a Product Manager?
      • Roles and Responsibilities of a Product Manager
      • The Product Mindset
      • Understanding the Product Management Lifecycle
      • Different Types of Product Managers
    • Product Team Structures
      • Stakeholders, Leadership, and the Company
      • Cross-Functional Product Team
      • Differences between Project, Program, and Product Management
  • People Skills
    • Overview
    • Communication
      • Knowing Your Audience
      • Elements of Persuasion and Motivation
      • The Art of Storytelling
      • Effective Meeting Management
      • Delivering Presentations and Demos
    • Building Relationships
      • Collaboration Cadence and Tools
      • Team Agreements and Purpose
      • Understanding Business Problems
      • Managing Expectations
      • Communicating Progress
    • Leadership
      • Cross-Functional Leadership
      • Applied Motivation and Getting Buy-In
      • Giving and Receiving Feedback
      • Aligning Product Mission, Vision, and Strategy
      • Sharing Impact and Outcomes
  • Process Skills
    • Overview
    • Strategy
      • Objective Setting
      • Prioritization
      • Roadmapping
    • Discovery
      • Problem Research and Definition
      • Customer Discovery and Research
      • Solution Design and Validation
    • Development
      • Writing and Using Product Requirements
      • Concepts through Designing
      • Working with Designers
      • Development Execution and Methodologies
      • Working with Engineers
      • Scoping and Writing User Stories
      • Technical Debt Management
    • Delivery
      • Roll-out and Release Management
      • Assessing Assumptions, Risk, and Issues
      • Measuring Product Launch Success
      • Marketing and Communications
      • User Activation
    • Optimization
      • Iterative Development and Learning
      • Streamlining Processes and Experiences
  • Knowledge Skills
    • Overview
    • Understanding the Customer
      • Customer Segmentation and Targeting
      • User Research Methods
      • Understanding Customer Pain Points
      • User Personas Development
      • User Behavior and Psychology
      • Acquiring and Retaining Customers
    • Data-Driven Decisions
      • The Role of Data in Product
      • Data Analysis and Interpretation
      • Identifying and Understanding Assumptions
      • Formulating Your Hypotheses
      • Selecting a Hypothesis for Testing
      • Navigating Signal Metrics to Define KPIs for Hypothesis Testing
      • Testing Your Hypothesis
      • Upholding Data Privacy and Ethics
    • Domain Knowledge
      • Competitive Analysis and Industry
      • Achieving Product-Market Fit
      • Technology and Innovation
      • Aligning with the Company
    • Business Understanding
      • Organizational Values, Objectives, and Priorities
      • Long-Term Planning
      • Business Model Fit
      • Monetization Strategy
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  • Example
  • Pain Points
  • Practical Exercise
  • Related Research Topics
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  1. People Skills
  2. Communication

Knowing Your Audience

Understanding your audience is fundamental to effective communication. This skill involves recognizing the audience's characteristics, such as their roles, cultures, backgrounds, goals, motivations, and communication styles.

Example

When collaborating with a Product Designer (PD) on reviewing a new design for an existing feature at a music streaming service, such as Apple Music, the PD usually leads the meeting. The Product Manager (PM) carefully examines the new design and actively listens to the PD's rationale. Throughout the design review, the PM raises any concerns and provides detailed explanations to support their thinking.

For example, suppose the search bar is not easily accessible despite previous user analysis indicating its importance. In that case, the PM waits for the discussion on the search area and then articulates the issue, explains the underlying reasoning, and potentially suggests a solution. The process often involves allowing space for collaborative or individual exploration to find the best solution. This communication style is well-suited for cross-functional collaboration with teams like development and marketing.

On the other hand, when engaging with a Data Scientist (DS) or any other research collaborator, the PM employs a precise and detailed communication approach. Suppose the DS is analyzing the PM. In that case, the PM ensures clear communication of the business use case, hypotheses being tested, suggested approaches, and any specific requirements for deliverables such as file format, data points, or graphs. This level of communication also applies when working with Data Analysts, UX Research, or other team members involved in research.

In contrast, the PM adopts a more concise approach when discussing a problem with C-Level executives (e.g., CEO or CFO). They provide a high-level overview of the problem, potential solutions, and their recommendations. The PM typically delves into specifics only when prompted or requested for further information but can bring up areas deemed important by the PM.

Pain Points

Challenges include understanding diverse audience needs and avoiding assumptions about audience knowledge or perspectives. Miscommunication can occur if the message isn't tailored to the audience's understanding.

Practical Exercise

Think of three different audiences you communicate within your role. How would you adapt a product update message for each of them?

Related Research Topics

  • Audience analysis techniques [ Google | Perplexity ]

  • Cross-cultural communication [ Google | Perplexity ]

  • Communication styles [ Google | Perplexity ]

  • developer-speak [ Google | Perplexity ]

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Last updated 2 months ago