Unit 2: Know Your Audience and Communication Channel
Now that you have a purpose, goal, or broad idea of what you want to accomplish, you must find an effective way to communicate your message. Your first step is to analyze your audience – you need to learn who your readers are, what they need, and what will engage them. Next, you must determine the best communication channel to reach them. Finally, you must consider privacy issues and your ethical responsibilities.
As disparate as these topics seem, they all influence effective communications with each particular audience. They are essential ingredients for being a competent communicator. Let's begin.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 5 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- explain how to identify your target audience;
- describe common attributes and expectations of audiences in professional settings;
- explain the benefit of using various channels for writing in a professional setting;
- describe strategies for generating content for professional writing;
- explain considerations for writing in an online and social media context;
- describe ethical considerations when writing in a professional context, such as citing sources, avoiding plagiarism, and respecting copyright; and
- articulate strategies for managing your digital footprint.
2.1: Identify Your Audience
When writing professionally, your job is to respect your audience and cultivate awareness. Before you begin writing, you need to determine who you are writing for and why. Do you know who you are writing for? Do they know you? Are they expecting to hear from you? You must clarify your meaning so your audience does not struggle to understand what you are saying.
Readers in professional settings have limited time. They begin by scanning the title and first sentence or two of an article to determine whether the message is worth their time. If they do not see a compelling reason to continue reading, they will stop, set your document aside, and may never return. The best way to avoid this fate is to convince your reader that your message is compelling and give them relevant information.
Who is your audience? Consider your audience's knowledge, attitude, and disposition toward the topic since different populations have different levels of knowledge and interest. Understanding how much context or background information your audience requires and what they want to know (or can absorb) is an important first step when choosing the language you should use in your writing. This is not easy, and you may need to conduct some research.
As mentioned, knowing your audience is critical in technical writing. For example, let's say you are creating three medical presentations for three groups of people. It could be a pamphlet, letter, or business proposal in a written or oral format. Consider enlisting the help of a designer to add visual material to your appeal. Charts, graphs, and infographics are often invaluable tools for presenting complex information to every kind of audience in every kind of situation, but especially in more technical fields.
- When writing for the general public, use simple language that most people can understand (as opposed to medical jargon and complex scientific terminology). Limit your discussion to social behaviors acceptable to a broad spectrum of cultures. Many patients want to learn about steps to combat the disease or illness you are describing and how they can prevent it from spreading to their family members and others.
- Healthcare professionals and scientists can understand more complex medical and scientific terminology. They want to learn how to treat their patients and the additional scientific implications that surround the issues. Most will be bored (and maybe insulted) by a document written for a less sophisticated audience.
- Policymakers and legislators require background information (without jargon) about the public health issue. They want to learn how any medical concerns will affect their communities and what they can do to help stem a crisis or pandemic. They may question culpability and want to learn how to prevent future occurrences.
Read this text to learn what you need and want to know about your audience. How can this help you accomplish your goals?
Watch this video, which introduces audience analysis for public speakers. Watch the presentation with a writer's ear. What do you need to know about your readers? This overview of audience analysis will help you gather the information relevant to you and your purpose.
Your audience analysis will shape the kind of research you do. Watch this video on what to remember when researching for an audience. What difference will your approach make in your credibility and your audience's response to you as a writer?
2.2: Types of Professional Writing
Your "channel" of communication refers to how you reach your audience, such as through an email, journal article, text message, or website. When writing, consider the kind of message you want to convey and the channel you will use. Are you writing an email? Posting to social media? Updating a webpage? Writing an article or a memo? Each communication channel requires different considerations to use effectively.
Your audience has expectations about the communications channels you use. The media you choose conveys a message in itself. For example, consider your reaction to an email from your supervisor to everyone on staff about the dress code you mistakenly violated this morning. Would you feel differently if your boss asked you to visit their office for a face-to-face conversation? What if they posted your picture on Instagram?
It is important to choose an appropriate channel because your communication method may alter the meaning of your message and evoke a different reaction.
Read this short text, which describes seven communication channels: text messages, emails, memos, letters, reports, and proposals.
Watch this video, which explores considerations you should make when writing texts, emails, memos, business proposals, reports, and sales messages. Listen carefully for themes that serve you well, regardless of the channel.
Read these guidelines for writing emails, texts, and general online communication. It includes examples of formats for professional emails and texts.
Read this article for more advice on writing memos, which are often conveyed by email in today's digital environment. It explains the purposes and features of memos.
Public relations (PR) staff do a lot of writing since their job is to generate interest and create a positive image for the companies they represent. Watch these two videos for pertinent advice from a PR professional.
In the first video, the presenter outlines the basic requirements of good PR writing. Most importantly, your messages should have a purpose so your audience pays attention. The content should be simple, unexpected and engaging, concrete or specific, credible, emotional, tell a story, and be strategic (i.e., you should write with the end in mind). Pay attention to the grammatical rules and writing conventions that appear in the AP Style Guide, watch your language, and use good form.
This second video highlights strategies for generating content. The presenter employs an inverted pyramid with five recommendations for formatting news releases – where you are pitching a story to a print or online news outlet. For example, you may want them to run a positive story about your client or include a public service announcement (PSA) in their next report or newsletter.
- At the beginning of your news release, focus on answering the five w's or your audience's five immediate questions – who, what, where, when, and why.
- The second paragraph might offer key quotes and supporting facts.
- Next, you might offer additional but less important facts and quotes for someone using your information to write a longer piece.
- Next, you provide background information.
- Finally, you should list general information about your organization and contact information.
The presenter discusses other public relations tools or methods, such as social media, fact sheets, a backgrounder, a one-on-one pitch, features and op-ed pieces for media, a media kit, and speechwritingز
A sales message has similar components to PR writing. Read this short text on how to write an effective sales message.
Read this chapter on marketing communications – a multi-channel promotional approach that includes advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing, and internet or digital marketing. Examples of sales promotions include "buy one get one" (BOGO), enter to win, and coupons.
Your resume is a professional communication tool you use to market yourself to prospective employers. Read this article on key elements you should include in your resume, a living document you should modify as you grow and apply for different types of position openings. It should highlight how your skills and experience align with the employer's needs.
2.3: Writing for Social Media
In this section, we explore how to incorporate rhetorical tools and writing conventions in the digital environment. Note that social media platforms change frequently and slip into, and out of, vogue without warning. We read, hear, watch, remix, and interact with online communication. How does the information you learn in this course apply to other social media channels you encounter?
Today, most companies and organizations use Meta (Facebook) to connect with their customers or members, using the online writing techniques we have reviewed to persuade, entice, and inform customers about their products and services.
Read this article on how businesses use analytics tools to gauge how customers value and react to their products via social media.
Instagram and TikTok are popular forums for sharing images, videos, and other types of content. Think about your purpose and envision how these media can communicate your message. Read this text on how to choose the appropriate text and visual images. How do these guidelines apply to other forms of social media?
Read this text on multimodal writing and image combination. How can you use text and images in the social media environment?
2.4: Writing in Other Online Contexts
Blogs are essentially websites comprised of short entries where one or more writers post over time. Bloggers create their websites to establish an online presence, showcase their professional or personal expertise, or fill a gap in the community for discussions on certain topics of interest. Employers and business forums use blogs and discussion boards to keep customers informed about their products and generate interest, respond to frequently asked questions, and exchange information in public and closed settings.
Read these guidelines on how to format a blog. This article also reviews video, image, and audio material you may include in your blog.
Whether you are the primary writer or a casual contributor to an online discussion, always try to make thoughtful and respectful posts online since your comments may be read widely and may remain on the site for a long time. As discussed below, online searches may refer to the site for years to come. Be aware that potential employers and others will find your post and judge your credibility and how well you converse with others.
This text offers tips on how to write a discussion post that will set the stage for a productive online discussion forum.
Read this text on how to make your contributions meaningful and purposeful. Think about what you are trying to convey and how you can add meaning to the discussion.
2.5: Ethical Considerations
Professional communication, especially in public relations, marketing, and sales, can invite deception and unethical tactics because it is based on communication with a strong element of persuasion. Most successful sales professionals recognize the importance of developing a strong relationship with their clients based on honesty and trust. Your credibility and integrity determine your long-term success or failure, whether your position involves quick transactions or prolonged negotiations.
Read this section on the importance of ensuring: 1. you use your own ideas (or your employer's), 2. your information is accurate and reliable, and 3. you do not use unethical methods to persuade your audience to buy your product or service.
Read this article on how to cite your sources. It will explain different contexts that require citations and what kinds of citations you should include. It also explores how to cite sources in the body of your text and create reference lists.
Watch this video on ethics in public relations. These practices are essential for public relations professionals and models for managing professional relationships and sensitive data.
Watch this video on additional legal considerations to keep in mind for professional writing, including free speech, defamation (slander and libel), disclosure, copyright, fair use (see below), and privacy.
Read this article on the need to adopt ethical practices during scientific and other types of research processes. What is plagiarism? What are some ways to avoid it?
Writers need permission from the copyright owner to use, perform, display, copy, or create a derivative of a creative work. Usually, the original author or creator owns the copyright to the material they created. However, they can transfer or sell these rights to another person or entity or state that anyone can use the material (with certain restrictions) through a Creative Commons license. In 1976, Congress also carved out certain exceptions to the "exclusive rights" of copyright holders, such as the concept of fair use for the educational use of copyrighted material.
Read this brief explanation of United States copyright law and tips for finding the material you can use in your blog posts and other online writings without suffering negative legal repercussions. Think about assigning a Creative Commons license to everything you post online to make it easy for anyone in your community to discuss, share, or distribute your creative material with others.
2.6: Managing Your Online Identity
How can you manage your reputation online? The words you write can remain online perpetually for everyone to see. Think about your ethos, credibility, and how you cultivate your digital footprint and social identity throughout your career.
For example, expect potential employers to search the Web to find the online essay you wrote five years ago. Does your writing express clear thought and incorporate inclusive language, or is it replete with factual errors and inappropriate remarks? Similarly, do not include anything in an email you do not wish all of your work colleagues to see. You do not know how the recipient will share your emails. Your positive online reputation will resonate with others.