Audience Analysis

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Audience Analysis

• Thomas L. Warren
• Oklahoma State University
• twarren_at_okstate.edu
• www.okstate.edu/artsci/techwr

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Technical Communication Model
Feedback Data
Data Feedback Information Information
Feedback Encoded Decoded Sender Messag
e Medium Receiver Feedback
Noise can occur at any point in the process.
Communication occurs in a context Interpersonal,
Group, Organization, Mass
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How do Readers Read?

• Skim
• Scan
• Search

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Implications

• SKIM
• Purpose Get drift
• Implication Summaries
• SCAN
• Purpose Find item
• Implication Headings
• SEARCH
• Purpose In-depth reading
• Implication Details

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Audiences

• Three possible audiences
• IdealUsually infer BEFORE writing
• DerivedUsually develop DURING writing based on
  text
• ActualThose who ACTUALLY read text

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Some Reader Types

• Lay
• Executive
• Expert
• Technician
• Operator

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Lay vs. Expert I
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Lay vs. Expert II
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Lay vs. Expert III
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Audience Analysis

• Three approaches to audience analysis
• DemographicWhat you can ask about and count
• OrganizationalRole of individual in organization
• PsychologicalWhat reader needs to know, how
  reader can understand, action expected

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Demographic

• Educationhow much formal education?
• Marital Statusmarried, single, etc.
• Sexmale, female
• Income/Employment Statusearnings
  working/retired etc.
• Addresswhere live
• Childrennumber, ages, etc.

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Sample Implications
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Organization
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Implications

• Suggests what reader going to do with information
• Managerlarger picture, planning, scheduling,
  deciding
• Workershow work fits in, questioning, collecting
  information

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Organization, cont.

• In your own group
• In close proximity
• Elsewhere in organization
• Outside organization

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Comparison with School
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ANALYSIS Classroom vs Job
Practices/Procedures Practices/Procedure
s studied in class studied in class
for academic writing for
on-the job writing Rules-
Reader- Strive to Strive for the based
based complete job highest level errors
errors of perfection Time- driven Perfe
ction- Driven Solves problem Accurate P
erfection Complete Mechanically,
Stylistically, Orderly, Correct Organizationally
expression
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Organizational(Mathes and Stevenson)
You in your professional role
Output from you to the system
Your technical activities
Your report writing activities
Input from the system to you
Feedback to you
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PsychologicalThree Questions

• What does my reader NEED to know?
• How can I help my reader to UNDERSTAND?
• What do I want my reader TO DO with the
  information?

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Three Questions

• What does the reader NEED to know?
• Quantity
• Content

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Three Questions

• How can I help my reader to UNDERSTAND the
  material?
• Definitions, visuals, etc.
• Sentence and paragraph length and structure
• Background information
• Qualitative details (technical)
• Clear statements of purpose and function

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Three Questions

• What do I want my reader TO DO with the
  information?
• Approve or disapprove
• Accept a recommendation
• Take some other kind of action
• Be informed only
• Other
• How will I know that my report is a GOOD one?

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Additional Elements to Consider

• Culture
• Environment
• Attitudes toward
• Writer
• Subject
• Activity

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Cultural Considerations

• Attitudes of culture toward
• Timevalue it? little value?
• Goalsindividual? group?
• Relianceself-reliant? dependent on group?
• Learningto do a job only? on-going?

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Environment

• Location where document usedlegibility issues
• Access timeshort/long
• Pressuresrapid response slow response

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Attitudes

• Relating to writer, subject, report
• Writerpositive? negative?
• Subjectinterested? not? favorable? unfavorable?
• Reportanxious to have? yet one more to get
  through?

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Manipulating Text

• Control, among other things
• Vocabularylevel of technicality
• Sentence structurecomplex, simple
• Sentence structureold-new information
• Paragraph structureplacement of elements

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Old/New and Sentence Structure

• The lens focuses the laser beam to a sharp hot
  point at which the air explodes with a bright red
  flash.
• The point where the laser beam is brought to a
  focus, the air is ionized by the intense heat and
  a brilliant red flash is produced.
• Lens focuses laser beam to sharp point where air
  molecules explode with bright red flash.

Old informationwhat you assume the reader
already knows.
New informationwhat you assume the reader does
not already know.
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Look at Some Samples

• Watch for what helps you identify the assumed
  reader
• Vocabularytechnical, everyday, etc.?
• Length of sentences
• What is old information in each? What is new?
• Where would you use each?

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Samples How are they different?

• The lens focuses the laser beam to a sharp hot
  point at which the air explodes with a bright red
  flash.
• The point where the laser beam is brought to a
  focus, the air is ionized by the intense heat and
  a brilliant red flash is produced.
• Lens focuses laser beam to sharp point where air
  molecules explode with bright red flash.

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Samples cont.

• See Fig. 4-1. Laser A emits coherent Beam B.
  Lens C focuses rays to sharp point D at which air
  ionizes and explodes.
• Traversing the lens, the laser beam forgets its
  storied coherence and converges to a pin point
  where it generates the heat of fifty suns. The
  air molecules thither are burst asunder, a ruby
  flash and cerulean puff signaling their
  extinction.

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Samples cont.

• The Wright Electric Type 14 ruby laser
  (oscillator-amplifier configuration) emits a
  coherent deep red light (0.69 microns) in a
  100-milliwatt peak power burst. When the rays
  are brought to a focus at a point at a point 2
  inches beyond the General Optics A-30 biconvex
  lens through which the rays pass, the light there
  generates enough heat to ionize the air molecules
  in a 0.5-millisecond point explosion accompanied
  by a bright flash.

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Samples cont.

• Satisfactory optics in combination with
  state-of-the-art laser electronics actualize
  narrowly localized heating at a discrete point in
  space. This is evidenced by the transient
  radiant phenomenon visible at the focus.

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Audience Analysis And finally . . .

• Understanding your audience improves
  communication
• Three approachesoverlap
• Demographic
• Organizational
• Psychological
• Important thing is to do it

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Questions? Contact

• Thomas L. Warren, Professor Director
• Technical Writing Program/M205
• English Department
• Oklahoma State University
• Stillwater, OK 74078
• twarren_at_okstate.edu
• www.okstate.edu/artsci/techwr