Meeting the Needs of Specific Audiences
Who will be reading the document?
· Analyze Your Document’s Audience and Purpose
There are several key questions to ask yourself when analyzing your audience
o Who is the main audience? Is anyone else likely to read it?
§ Primary and Secondary Audiences
Primary readers are decision makers; secondary readers carry out the project or advise the decision makers.
· Primary Audience: Instructions for installing new software for an office would be directed PRIMARILY at the people doing the installing.
· Secondary Audience: Managers checking if the instructions comply with company policy
o What is your relationship with the audience? Are multiple types of relationships involved?
§ Are you addressing superiors, colleagues, or subordinates?
§ Are the readers inside or outside your organization? Use this to decide your level of confidentiality
§ Do you know these readers personally? Maybe your tone can be less formal
o What is the purpose of your document?
What is the main purpose and what other purposes will the document serve?
What will readers do with the information?
§ Primary Purposes: Inform, Instruct, or Persuade
· Example: Instruction manuals are used primarily to instruct people in how to assemble or use a product. The Secondary purpose would be for people to use that product safely.
§ Start with a clear audience and purpose statement that identifies the target audience, primary purpose, and secondary purposes.
§ Is the document about teaching facts or understanding concepts?
§ Is this information going to be used to make a decision?
§ When should I expect people to act on the information?
§ Is a step-by-step necessary?
· Assess the Audience’s Technical Background
o What information does the audience need? Will they be familiar with technical details?
o Do the readers have varying levels of expertise?
§ Think about writing for people in your field versus writing for a journal article. When writing for people in your same field, you can include more technical details and expect they’ll be understood. A journal article might include less technical detail because it is geared towards a much wider audience.
§ It’s important to decide if you are writing for a…
· Highly Technical Audience
o A highly technical audience will expect facts and figures—not long explanations.
· Identify the Audience’s Cultural Background
o What culture or cultures does your audience represent? How might cultural differences shape readers’ expectations and interpretations?
o Some cultures consider getting directly to the point, rude.
· Anticipate Your Audience’s Preferences
o Guidelines for Analyzing Your Audience and Its Use of the Document
§ Your audience will have preferences for length and amount of detail
§ Consider the format and medium of your document
§ Your tone should be appropriate for the audience
§ Pay attention to deadlines and timing as well as budget
· Develop an Audience and Use Profile
o Who is my audience?
o How will they use this document?
· Brainstorm as a Way of Getting Started
o Produce as many ideas possible without judgments
o Focus on the issue
o At the end, sort through the list- remove useless things and sort the remaining ideas into categories.
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