Chapter 5

Analyzing Your Audience and

Purpose

2Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Three Steps in Analyzing an Audience

Three steps in analyzing an audience:1. Identify primary and secondary

audiences.2. Identify basic categories of readers.3. Identify individual characteristics

of readers.

3Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Start by classifying your readers into two categories:

Two categories of readers:1. A primary audience of people who use

your document in carrying out their jobs Focus on needs of the primary audience Ensure their needed information is displayed

prominently

2. A secondary audience of people who need to stay aware of developments in the organization but who will not directly act on or respond to your document

Information directed at secondary audience is provided in a less prominent place in the document, i.e. an appendix

4Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Categories of Readers

Another categorization of readers: Experts

read to gain an understanding of the theory and its implications.

Technicians read to gain a hands-on understanding of how

something works or how to carry out a task. Managers

read to learn the bottom-line facts to aid in making decisions.

General readers read to satisfy curiosity and for self-interest.

5Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Guidelines for Writing for an Expert Audience

Experts: Highly trained Often carries out and communicates

research When writing to an “Expert”

audience: Include theory Include technical vocabulary Include formulas Include sophisticated graphics

6Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Guidelines for Writing for a Technician Audience

When writing to a “Technician” audience: Include graphics. Use common words, short sentences,

and short paragraphs. Avoid excessive theory.

7Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Guidelines for Writing for a Manager Audience

When writing to a “Managerial” audience: Focus on managerial implications,

not technical details. Use short sentences and simple

vocabulary. Put details in appendices.

8Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Guidelines for Writing for a General Reader

When writing to a “General Reader” audience Use short sentences and paragraphs.

See Jane run. Use human appeal. Use an informal tone.

9Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Determine individual characteristics of readers by asking:

Determine readers’ individual characteristics by asking: Who is your reader? What are your reader’s attitudes and

expectations? Why and how will your reader use

your document?

10Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Who is your reader?

What is the reader’s Education?

Amount of support material Professional experience?

Range of expertise Job responsibility?

Address specific concerns Personal characteristics?

Age, etc. Personal preferences?

Read their work Cultural characteristics?

Avoid offensive remarks

11Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

What are your reader’s attitudes and expectations?

What is the reader’s attitude toward you?

What is the reader’s attitude toward the subject (see pg. 76)?

What are the reader’s expectations about the document? Type of document Scope Amount of detail

12Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Why and how will your reader use your document?

Why is the reader reading your document? Carry out a task Learn an answer to a question Understand broad outline of a subject

How will the reader read your document? Skim it vs. study it closely Modify it & forward it

What is the reader’s reading skill? Written, oral, computer-based

What is the physical environment in which the reader will read your document?

Lighting, weather, contaminants (bathroom?)

13Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Writing for Multiple Audiences

If your document may have a variety of readers, consider making it modules.

Break the document into components addressed to different kinds of readers. Executive summary for managers Full technical discussion for experts Implementation schedule for

technicians Financial plan for budget officer

14Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Seven Major Cultural Variables That Lie on the Surface

Prevalent cultural variables: Political Economic Social Religious Educational Technological Linguistic

15Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Six Cultural Variables That Lie Beneath the Surface

Hidden cultural variables: Focus on individuals or groups Distance between business life and

private life Distance between ranks Nature of truth Need to spell out details Attitudes toward uncertainty

16Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

With Hidden Cultural Variables, Keep In Mind:

Each variable represents a spectrum of attitudes.

The six variables do not line up in a clear pattern.

Different organizations within the same culture can vary greatly.

An organization's cultural attitudes are fluid, not static.

17Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Strategies for Writing for Readers from Other Cultures

When writing for readers from other cultures: Limit your vocabulary. Keep sentences short. Define abbreviations and acronyms in a

glossary. Avoid jargon unless you know your readers are

familiar with it. Avoid idioms and slang. Use the active voice whenever possible. Be careful with graphics. Be sure someone from the target culture

reviews your document.

18Chapter 5. Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose

Determining Your Purpose

To determine the purpose of your document, ask yourself: What do I want this document to

accomplish? Inform, convince, persuade, summarize

What do I want readers to know or believe?

What do I want readers to do? Act, authorize, recommend