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ASK THE EDITOR Vol. 2, Issue 1 January/February 2001 http://kevinorf.tripod.com ----- IN THIS ISSUE: KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE - NOTE FROM THE EDITOR - KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE - WHOM AM I WRITING FOR? ----- NOTE FROM THE EDITOR This issue's topic--knowing your audience--was suggested by a reader. Thanks for your suggestions and keep them coming. We're always looking for new topics, as well as any suggestions on how we can improve this newsletter to meet your needs. After all, we need to know our audience! Please also continue to respond to the Question for Readers. Sharing knowledge is a key feature of this newsletter. And feel free to send us an Ask the Editor question. We've changed our name to Orfield Communications. Same great services, only less filling. Check out the new logo and updated content at our Web site: http://kevinorf.tripod.com (note that "www" is not required). And please recommend this newsletter to your friends and associates. Just have them send an e-mail to kevinorf@netwurx.net with "Subscribe to Ask the Editor" in the "Subject" box. Sincerely, "The Editor" ----- KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE A science writer for USA Today was once asked how she thought about her audience when she was writing. After all, she had millions of readers. How in the world could she determine who she was writing to? She replied, "I usually imagine I'm writing something for my mother. I always try to write in terms understandable to her." Not bad advice, really. Thinking about audience can be a very tricky thing, but as I always stress to my seminar attendees, it is critically important. Much of the writing we do is persuasive. And to be persuasive, you need to know who your audience is, what they know about a topic, what they need to know, and what their needs and desires are. This is often easier said than done. Even when we're writing to a single individual, it's not always easy to determine exactly what needs to be said. This problem is compounded when we write to a larger audience, for example, when writing a company-wide memo or a letter to customers. --- WHOM AM I WRITING FOR? As you begin drafting, one of the first questions you might have is, "Whom am I writing for?" Here's an answer that might surprise you. Don't worry about it. If you're writing for a large audience, it's difficult or impossible to visualize exactly who they are. As I stress in my seminar, trust yourself. A sure-fire method for getting writer's block is worrying too much about what your reader thinks. So when drafting, relax and be yourself. Say what you need to say. Believe that what you have to say on a topic is important and trust that how you say it will be understood. If you want your readers to be enthusiastic about your writing, then you need to be. This passion will come through in the final product. But didn't I just say it's critically important to think about audience? Don't forget that writing is a process of planning, writing and revising. There's no hard and fast rule, but I would suggest thinking about audience during the planning stage, to help you determine ahead of time what needs to be said, and when revising to help reevaluate what you have written. During these stages of the writing process, you can ask yourself some basic questions to make sure that what you have written is relevant for your reader: - What does my reader know about the topic? This can be tricky. If you underestimate what they know, you risk giving them too much information and boring them. If you overestimate what they know, you'll confuse them with unfamiliar terms. Put yourself in the reader's shoes. If possible, interview representatives of your audience and ask them what they need to know. If appropriate, look at any marketing research available. Once you've completed a draft, have a sampling of the audience or a trusted colleague read the piece before it is sent to the intended audience. Err on the side of giving them only as much as they need to know. I was writing a sales piece for a client recently and included a table of technical information that I thought might be of interest to the customer. Several of the reviewers thought the information was too technical so it was dropped. Gauging what an audience knows comes with experience, more than anything. But it's always a safe bet to stick to plain English and avoid jargon. - How do my readers feel about the topic? Do your readers care about your subject? Should they? What are their needs and motivations and how can you appeal to them? For example, you might safely assume that physicians will be interested in the latest therapies related to their area, but you risk putting them to sleep when you inform them about the latest government information management standards. Cut right to the chase and let them know what is important to them, for example, that failure to comply will mean they cannot be reimbursed by payers. Appealing to your readers' desires to become healthier, wealthier and wiser will almost always get their attention. You should also consider what would antagonize your reader. You're probably not going to persuade too many sportsmen that they can reduce their chances of getting skin cancer by staying indoors, but you might be able to convince them to use sun block, once they understand the risks of sun exposure. - Do your readers expect you to treat a subject a certain way? Learn as much as you can about how to treat a subject. Get advice from the person who gave you the writing assignment. Ask them the tone you should use. Find out what key messages need to be covered. Ask if any areas are particularly sensitive and how they should be addressed. Get previous examples of similar writing projects to get a feel for style and tone. Reading these will give you a good sense about such things as overall length, the typical number of sentences within paragraphs or paragraphs within sections, use of quotes, number of headings, and whether the tone is light or serious. But don't fall into the trap of trying to emulate the style exactly. Remember to trust yourself! - What can my reader do? Don't forget that the purpose of most writing is to get someone to act. Don't forget to tell your readers exactly what you would like them to do. ----- QUOTES "No one can write decently who is distrustful of the reader's intelligence, or whose attitude is patronizing." E.B. White "Someone says, 'Whom do you write for?' I reply: 'Do you read me?' If they say, 'Yes,' I say, 'Do you like it?' If they say, 'No,' then I say, 'I don't write for you.'" W.H. Auden "'Tis the good reader that makes the good book." Ralph Waldo Emerson "I think the writer ought to help the reader as much as he can without damaging what he wants to say, and I don't think it ever hurts the writer to sort of stand back now and then and look at his stuff as if he were reading it instead of writing it." James Jones ------ QUESTION FOR READERS How do you think about your audience during the writing process? Which style manual do you use? (See reader reply in next section.) ----- PREVIOUS READER REPLIES Another sign of the impending demise of civilization as we know it Dear Editor: Thanks so much for another great issue (No. 6). How to actually get those first words down on paper or word-processing screen is my personal demon, and I really appreciate all the suggested strategies. Much appreciated, too, are the quotes from and information about even the most celebrated writers' recurring lack of self-confidence. This is truly comforting and encouraging. And now to my subject -- more of an observation, perhaps, than a question. What has happened to the use of who and whom for people and other animate objects, such as beloved pets? "Anyone that wants to can come to the meeting." "People that like theatre will like this movie." Am I the only one who gnashes my teeth upon hearing or, especially, reading such constructions? Thanks for the opportunity to vent regarding a pet peeve. Sincerely, Karen Devlin Although I'm an issue late with this, I have a question for your readers which is related to the "Breaking the Rules" discussion. What is the dominant style used by business writers out there? I always thought AP style was relatively common. I've been with my present company for more than seven years. We use AP style here (which has been the company standard for more than 25 years) and AP was also the preferred style at my previous company - a major national corporation. A co-worker and I recently had a spat with our new manager whose response to our attempts at some consistency was, "Why do you use AP? This isn't a newspaper." This man has had more than 20 years of experience at newspapers, companies and agencies, and we were very surprised that he seemed to have left his memory of AP back in his newspaper days. Although its origin is in the newspaper biz, I've always been under the impression that AP style is relatively widely embraced. Am I nuts? Thanks for your thoughts and/or responses from readers. Christine Strohmeyer ----- ASK THE EDITOR QUESTION We have a grammar issue disagreement here that I haven't been able to locate in our style manuals. I thought you could shed some light on it. In the sentence: Our expertise, combined with our marketing ability, make (makes) us the best choice. Should the verb be "make" or "makes"? Does the clause make it a plural subject? Thanks for your help. Janice Sewell The modifier "combined with our marketing ability" does not make the subject "expertise" plural, so go with "makes." "The Editor" ----- Stumped by a style issue or perplexed by a punctuation problem? In each issue, I answer a question submitted by a reader. Send your question today! ***** Copyright 2001 Kevin Orfield Need an immediate quote on a writing project? Or need an estimate for a customized business writing seminar? Call a writing consultant you can depend on. Kevin Orfield, MA Writing Consultant 262-236-0110 Fax: 262-236-0120
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