Of all the factors that can affect the reception and comprehension of a message, audience expectations are among the most overlooked. Yet they can be one of the main sources of communications failure. In this plenary presentation from the PLAIN 2015 conference in Dublin, Josiah looks at how expectations relate to needs and wants, and at the main types of expectations that influence receptiveness. He also looks at why it’s more important to avoid confirming negative expectations than to completely fulfil positive ones.