In 2012, a tape was released of GOP nominee Mitt Romney telling his donors that 47 percent of Americans (those who backed Obama) were victims who were “dependent upon government” and paid no income tax. He noted, “My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” Romney later admitted that this was a mistake and repudiated his comments. How might Romney have changed his choice of words if he had known the speech would be seen by a large public audience rather than like-minded donors?

Make a list of the demographic groups to which you belong, in terms of age, gender composition, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religious orientation, socioeconomic background, and political affiliation. If a speaker were to address you based on only one of these demographic characteristics, how would you react?

Next time you are in a crowd—on the bus, at the mall, in a coffee shop, or in class—take a look at the people around you. If you had to address that crowd as a speaker, what common ground could you find? What beliefs, values, or experiences might you share with the members of that crowd?