AUDIENCE RECOGNITION
& INVOLVEMENT
AUDIENCE RECOGNITION
When you write, give an oral presentation, convene a meeting,
making a speech at the conference, consider fol. Points:
Knowing answers to these question would help to determine:
Use of jargons or acronyms
Tone
KNOWLEDGE OF SUBJECT MATTER
What does your audience know about the sub. Matter?
Consider the Audience Variables:
AUDIENCE RECOGNITION: HIGH - TECH
AUDIENCE
High-tech audience work in your field of expertise: share the
same educational background, work experience or level of
understanding
They would understand high-tech jargons, acronyms,
abbreviations
e.g. No need to explain to an electronic technician what MHz means.
Defining megahertz would be unnecessary.
They require minimal details regarding standard procedures or
theories
They need little background info. regarding project’s history or
objectives
AUDIENCE RECOGNITION: LOW-TECH AUDIENCE
Low-tech readers are familiar with the tech. you’re talking
about, but their job responsibilities are peripheral to the sub.
matter (work in other dept, company, only managing you, or
working under your supervision)
They understand some abbr., jar., tech. terms, but to ensure
clarity, define these terms
Not in your normal writing “loop”(whom you write very often)
e.g. While submitting report to upper-lvl management, you
can’t just begin with work accomplished. You need to
explain “why, when, how and people involved”. They
understand basic concepts of your work, but not have been
involved in it daily.
HIGH-TECH VS LOW-TECH
CORRESPONDENCE
AUDIENCE RECOGNITION: LAY
AUDIENCE
They don’t have any knowledge about your field of
expertise
Unfamiliar with your sub. matter; therefore, use
simple lang.
Avoid high-tech terms, or define them thoroughly
Will need background info.
HIGH-TECH VS LAY-READER
CORRESPONDENCE
AUDIENCE RECOGNITION: MULTIPLE
AUDIENCES
Correspondence is not always
sent to one type of audience
You may have an audience of
multiple level of expertise
Writing correspondence for
multiple readers create a
challenge
Discuss proper background
data (obj, overviews), clarify
history, define jargons, abr,
acronyms
AUDIENCE RECOGNITION: FUTURE AUDIENCE
Technical Comm. Is usually archived for future
audience
When your correspondence is retrieved later, will
your reader be still familiar with the topic?
Future readers need clarity, background info and
terms defined.
Juries and judges who depend on past reports to
decide cases
People who require info to familiarize themselves
with workplace procedures
DEFINING TERMS FOR AUDIENCE
Defining terms parenthetically
Define a term parenthetically once in the whole
document
instead of just writing WAN, write WAN (Wide Area Network)
or wide area network (WAN)
In a Sentence
Provide sentence definition: TERM + TYPE +
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTIC
Defining HTTP in a sentence:
DEFINING TERMS FOR AUDIENCE
Using Extended Definition of One or More
Paragraphs:
Includes examples, procedures and descriptions
Paragraph definition of a video card:
DEFINING TERMS FOR AUDIENCE
In a Glossary:
Glossary is an alphabetized list of terms placed after
your conclusion/recommendation
DEFINING TERMS FOR AUDIENCE
Providing Pop-ups and Links with definition
DEFINING TERMS FOR AUDIENCE: ACTIVITY
HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH DIFFERENT AUDIENCE LEVEL:
IN A NUTSHELL
DETERMINE THE AUDIENCE?
AUDIENCE EVALUATION FORM
EXERCISE: DETERMINE THE AUDIENCE
EXERCISE: DETERMINE THE AUDIENCE
AUDIENCE PERSONALITY TRAITS AND RESPONSE
AUDIENCE PERSONALITY:
DIVERSITY/MULTICULTURALISM
Your audience can be diverse in many different ways: gender,
race/ethnicity, religion, age, multicultural etc
Diversity is protected by law
Diverse audience keeps the workforce competitive
We’re living in a global world, inter-cultural communication is
norm in today’s world
CHALLENGES OF MULTICULTURAL COMMUNICATION
One challenge posed by increasing cross/multi-cultural comm.
Is language
Language barriers may lead to dangerous repercussions in
certain professions
GUIDELINESS FOR EFFECTIVE MULTICULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
Understanding Cultural Variables:
Focus on Individuals or Groups: Some cultures esp. in the West focus on
individuals more than groups. The typical Western employee doesn’t see
his/her ability being defined by the organization. Other cultures, esp. in
Asia, value groups more than indl.
Communication in individualist cultures focus on writers/ readers need,
rather than on those of their org.
Communication in group-oriented cultures focus on organization’s
needs
Distance b/w Business Life & Private Life:
Cultures that value individualism: great distance b/w business & private life.
Their comm. focuses only on technical details, little ref to personal info.
Group-Oriented Cultures: formal comm. contains personal info. (reader’s
family, health) general topics (season, weather)
Goal: to build goodwill b/w two organizations
GUIDELINESS FOR EFFECTIVE MULTICULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
Understanding Cultural Variables:
Distance b/w Ranks:
Cultures with smaller distance: close working rel. b/w supervisors &
subordinates
Comm, is less formal
Inappropriate informality is resented (Use of Dear) when people don’t know
each other
Cultures with great distance: rare comm. with subordinates
Formal names & titles used (Mr., Dr.)
Need for details to be spelled out:
Low-context cultures: value full, complete info. Individualist cultures
High-context cultures: value documents in which some info. is merely
implied, group-oriented cultures
GUIDELINESS FOR EFFECTIVE MULTICULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
GUIDELINESS FOR EFFECTIVE MULTICULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
GUIDELINESS FOR EFFECTIVE MULTICULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
Define acronyms & abbreviations:
esp. when your reader in non-native
e.g. In US, job title “system manager” abbr as sysmgr, would make
no sense in Germany, where abbr is system leiter
Avoid Jargons & Idioms:
Common expressions in English: meaningless in non-English world
Use of sports images to figuratively illustrate points may not communicate
well worldwide: “tackle” a chore, “huddle” to make decisions, “hit a home
run”.
Distinguish between Nouns and Verbs
Many words in English work both as nouns and verbs, may lead to mis-
translation
e.g. computer terms, file, scroll, paste, help
GUIDELINESS FOR EFFECTIVE MULTICULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
Watch for Cultural Biases/Expectations
Diff. colors & graphics may connote diff meanings in diff. parts of
the world
Red in US connotes danger, “in the red” suggest a financial prob
Red in China has a positive connotation
Black often implies death/danger, but in US “in the black” means
financial stability
Animals represent multicultural challenge, in US, “you’re a turkey”
if you make mistake, but success will “make you soar like an
eagle”. Same meaning don’t translate in other cultures
“Piggy bank” a perfect image for savings in US, but pork is a negative
symbol in Mideast
If you’re “cowed” by your competition in US , you lose. In contrast, cows
rep. a sacred image in India
GUIDELINESS FOR EFFECTIVE MULTICULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
Be Careful when Using Slash Marks
Slash mark (/) may mean OR, AND or both
May cause issues in translation
Avoid Humor and Puns:
The visual pun in Microsoft Excel is easily comprehensible in US only
Paper Size:
Standard sheet of paper in US: 8.5 X 11 inches
A4 size in Europe: 8.25 X 11.69 inches
US Format would pose challenges in printing the same doc. in London
Be Careful with Numbers, Measurements, Date & Time:
Standard American: inches, feet, yards. Others: metrics: high, wide &
deep. Huge diff. b/w 18 X 20 X 30 feet & 18 X 20 X 30 millimeters.
Dates:
05/03/12
GUIDELINESS FOR EFFECTIVE MULTICULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
In US, MM/DD/YY
In UK”: DD/MM/YY
GUIDELINESS FOR EFFECTIVE MULTICULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
Time:
Work hours are diff. around the globe:
US: Ave. 40-hour workweek, typically 8:00 -4:00
French have reduced the workweek to 35 hours
Middle east countries close work on Fridays
Simple words like today, tomorrow, yesterday may cause probs
Japan is 14 hours ahead of US eastern standard time
GUIDELINESS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Avoiding Biased/Discriminatory Language:
Ageist Language:
“elderly” implies feebleness, “Old folks” create a negative image
To Avoid these biases: use “people over seventy”, or “retirees”.
GUIDELINESS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Biased Language about people with Disabilities
“Handicap” creates a negative image, “Disability” is gen. preferred
Avoid referencing to person’s disability
Need to refer to a physical prob, do so without negative
characterization
GUIDELINESS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Avoid Discriminatory Language
Avoid Stereotyping, reference to gender specific roles
Avoid gender-specific pronouns when referring to a general
audience
Avoid gender-tagged nouns: mankind to humankind/people
EXAMPLE OF POOR COMMUNICATION FOR A MULTI-
LINGUAL AUDIENCE
REASONS OF POOR COMMUNICATION FOR A MULTI-
LINGUAL AUDIENCE
AFTER CORRECTIONS:
EXERCISE:
AUDIENCE INVOLVEMENT
Effective tech. comm. Demands audience involvement
Achieving audience involvement requires: personalized tone &
readers’ benefits
PERSONALIZED TONE:
Pronouns:
Personalize correspondence through pronouns
Omit pronouns = text appears to be computer-generated
Use pronouns = humanize the text
You, Your: preferred, speaking directly to the reader
We, Us, Our: writing to multiple audiences/subordinates
I, Me, My: writer’s involvement, overuse = self-obsession
AUDIENCE INVOLVEMENT
AUDIENCE INVOLVEMENT
READER’S BENEFIT:
Explain the benefit and Use Positive Words
State the benefits clearly, incorporate You-Attitude
When writing procedures: clearly mention how readers will
reap benefits
AUDIENCE INVOLVEMENT
USE POSITIVE WORDS:
AUDIENCE INVOLVEMENT: EXERCISE
CMAPP COMMUNICATION
MODEL
CMAPP— a model for technical comm.
Context,
Message,
Audience,
Purpose,
Product
CMAPP COMMUNICATION
MODEL
Message Audience
Purpose Product
The message effects the The product refers to the
audience to which the technical document.
communication is directed.
Each element impacts and
The purpose affects the affects the others
intent of the message. continuously.
Context Message
What exactly am I trying to
What prompted me to
communicate?
communicate? Is my message self-contained, or is it
What is the underlying or the initial, middle, or final segment of
a longer communication?
surrounding situation? Have I included all necessary and
What are the physical excluded all unnecessary
information?
conditions in oral comm. Have I provided the specifics that my
(lighting, noise, etc.)? audience will need and/or want?
How will the context Do I have more than one message
(i.e., one or more secondary
affect my audiences’ messages)?
response/understanding? If I have more than one message,
have I arranged them in an order
that is appropriate for this context,
audience, and purpose?
Audience Purpose
Who should receive my Why should my audience
communication? need or want this
Who will receive it? communication?
What does my audience know What do I want to
already?
achieve?
What does my audience need
Am I trying to inform,
or want to know?
How specialized (technical) is
persuade, instruct, or
my audience? describe?
How will my audience benefit Was my communication
from my communication? explicitly requested?
Are there deadlines
involved?
CMAPP ANALYSIS CONTINUED
Product
Should I be writing, presenting orally, or visiting?
Have I chosen a product (e.g. letter, memo,
report, presentation) that is appropriate for this
context, audience, message and purpose?
Are the wording and format of my product
audience-friendly?
CMAPP SCENARIO
Write a technical or semi technical
document, by employing the CMAPP model,
about creating an APP, that would benefit
people of your country, or humanity as a
whole.
EXERCISE:
