Alexis B's Writing To Fit Your Audience

One of the most important steps in drafting your document or speech is identifying WHO you are writing to. Who is your audience?

According to writing.colostate.edu, there are three questions you can ask yourself to help analyze your audience.

• Who they are? (age, sex, education, economic status, political/social/religious beliefs);

• What level of knowledge do they have about the subject being discussed? (general reader, specialist or expert)

• In what context will they be reading the piece of writing or hearing the speech? (in a newspaper, textbook, popular magazine, on the Internet, etc.).

It is obvious that you would not speak to college students in the same manner that you would speak to a group of senior citizens. In the same way you do not want to offend your audience (or a group of your audience) by taking sides on touchy subjects such as politics and/or religious beliefs. Here it is important to Identify WHO you are speaking to.

The level of knowledge/information that your audience has is also a large factor in determining how you should compose your document. According to Michel Muraski from Colorado State University there are three types of audiences: lay, managerial, and expert.

• The “lay” audience has little or no knowledge on the addressed subject. Therefore it is essential to fill in all of the holes. They usually need background information and they expect more definitions and descriptions.

• The “managerial” audience has more knowledge than a lay audience, but not as much as an expert on the subject. They still need information to make a decision about the issue/subject.

• The "experts" may be the most demanding audience in terms of knowledge, presentation, and graphics or visuals.

References:

“Determining your Audience Type.” Colorado State University. Web. 2 November 2009. .