Understanding Your Audience

???One of the most important aspects of technical writing is understanding for whom you are writing.?There is much to do in acquiring the knowledge of an audience before the writer begins to write.?This is important because understanding your audience will shape and guide the content and style that is written, Olson, L. D. (1989).?Important factors to take into consideration are the educational and technical level of your readers, age, cultural differences, their expectations and attitudes and how they will use the information being presented, according to Markel, M. (2017).

Barraza, H. (n.d.) points out the importance of writing to your audience.?It is vital to keep your reader in mind, when you write.?This will help you write more understandably and will make you a better writer.?When writing to a group, not everyone will read at the same level.?It is important to prioritize your audience in such a case.?For example, if you were presenting to Bill Gates, his board members and several lawyers, write to Bill Gates' level. The lawyers will have ample time to interpret the technical writing later but impressing Bill Gates would be paramount.?It would be impossible to please everyone and write to their level.?Define where your focus should be and write accordingly.

???Olson states that, when writing to a lay audience, it is important to avoid jargon and overly technical ideas and terminology.?Shorter sentences and paragraphs may be used to keep the reader's attention and the use of analogy versus theory.?For a more advanced audience, it is recommended to use theory more than analogy.?More descriptive, longer and complex sentence and paragraph structure is also acceptable.?When writing for a lay audience, you do not want to write over their heads.?For a technical reader, you do not wish to expose yourself as uneducated or unprepared.?With proper research, you can learn who you are writing for and where on the technical spectrum to focus your efforts.

??In the age of advancing social media, there are many new ways for researching your audience.?One of the best resources available is LinkdIn.?Whole company directories, personnel, connections and customers are available with a few clicks.?You can learn where your reader studied, where they have worked and even learn about their technical level, especially if they have completed LinkdIn learning or certificate activities.?Any social media platform can give insight on your reader but wading through personal pages can be a bit voyeuristic.?That's not to say it won't be effective.?Use your best discretion, when combing through someone's personal pages.?A company's website is a good resource.?The about page and the company's mission statement can give great insight.?Often on the Careers or Jobs page, you will see listings that contain in depth ideas relevant to the values of the company and what they look for in people who represent them.?There are often volumes of helpful and useful information available on a company sight, you simply must be resourceful.?

???Beyond social media, you can always do it the old-fashioned way and have a conversation.?One of the best ways to learn about someone is simply to ask.?Communication skills are highly valued in the business and professional environment.?An effective first step could be as easy as picking up the phone and asking some questions.?Zoom and Microsoft Teams are additional tools that can be used to reach in the interest of learning more about your reader.?Meeting in person can be of value, as well, such as meeting for a cup of coffee.?This can be a very disarming tactic, which can create a level of familiarity and comfort, and you may be able to learn substantially more than you would any other way.?You may also choose to speak with someone else, such as an acquaintance, friend or customer of your reader.

???Google, Bing and other search engines can be used to find published information, completed projects and more that your reader or readers have participated in.?There is a wealth of personal and corporate information available online.?Be resourceful.?Find company reviews on Google or Yelp to get insight on how the company interacts with its customers.??

??By using these techniques to know and understand your audience, you can create more effective presentations.?Learning who your reader is and what their expectations are will give you greater success.?Some of these ideas sound time consuming or perhaps difficult or even uncomfortable to implement, but with proper preparation, the benefits will be substantial.?

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Olson, L. D. (1989). Technical writing methods show ways to consider audience.?Journalism Educator,?44(2), 3–76.?https://doi.org/10.1177/107769588904400201

Markel, M. (2017).?Technical communication?(12th ed.).?Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's. Retrieved from?https://www.vitalsource.com

Barraza, H. (n.d.). When writing, why is it important to know your audience??Authors Cast.?https://authorscast.com/when-writing-why-is-it-important-to-know-your-audience