Audience Awareness

Audience Awareness

  It is important to be aware of your audience in technical writing. The person writing tends to write based on their wants or likes but you should always keep in mind who will be reading the material and gear it toward that audience. If you are working on a school assignment you may be thinking of your instructor or peers. When writing for work you are probably thinking of coworkers or leadership. All of these audiences would require different writing to fit their needs.

  When using art or pictures in an assignment it’s important to adjust toward the audience as executives wouldn’t expect to see cartoons but other readers may stay focused with something funny thrown in. It would be important for executives to see graphs, charts or other pictures that bring out the importance of the subject.

  Another aspect to think about would be the education of the subject as well. The writer should never go above the level of knowledge for the reader; they should write so the reader understands and can comprehend. On the other hand, for the reader that has a strong understanding and knowledge of the subject, the writing would be more in depth with the information and the vocabulary at a higher level as the reader has a higher level of understanding.

  We know when we are writing for our coworkers we can be a little more direct about what the expected outcome is but when addressing our leaders we would take more of a suggestive approach out of respect for their position. One thing to remember with all audiences is kindness and respect. You will get more from every reader if they feel appreciated and respected.