This article is about how to adapt your message to your audience

1. Lecture 5
ADAPTING YOUR
MESSAGE TO YOUR
AUDIENCE (CONTINUE)

2. Irwin/McGraw-Hill
© The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc., 2000
Analyze Audiences
• As individuals
• As members of groups
– Demographics
– Psychographics
• As members of organizations

3. Discourse communities
• Discourse communities, include family, peers,
professional associations, clubs, and the
workplace—all communities with which your
audience identifies. Discourse communities are
groups whose members create the affiliation, the
rules and the norms, through discourse, or
dialogue. Members communicate through
symbols (language, nonverbals) that may or may
not be exclusive to their group, but which
identify them as members of that group.

4. Irwin/McGraw-Hill
© The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc., 2000
Discourse Communities
A group of people who share assumptions about
• What topics to discuss
• What formats and styles to use
• What channels to use
• What constitutes evidence

5. Irwin/McGraw-Hill
© The McGraw-Hill Companies,
Inc., 2000
Organizational Culture
• The shared values and philosophies
• Power
• Preferred behaviors, dress, and language

6. When analyzing an organization’s discourse community,
consider both non-verbal and verbal clues:
• What does the physical environment say about who and what are
valued? What departments and services are front and centre?
Where is the reception area located? What messages do the
furnishings and decor send? How are visitors welcomed? Is the
company mission statement prominent? What does the office
space layout indicate about the organization’s values? Where are
the library, training rooms, gymnasium, and cafeteria located?
How well are they resourced?
• Where do the managers work? Do bosses dress differently from
other employees?
• How are employees treated? How are new hires oriented? How
is employee performance recognized? What’s featured in the
company newsletter? How do people in the organization get
important information?

7. When analyzing an organization’s discourse community,
consider both non-verbal and verbal clues: (continue)
• How do people in the organization communicate? What
channels, formats, and styles are preferred for communication?
Do they write a paper memo, send an email, or walk down the
hall to talk to someone? How formal or informal are people
expected to be—in their dress, on the telephone, in meetings?
• What do people talk about? What is not discussed?
• What kind of and how much evidence is needed to be
convincing? Is personal evidence convincing? Do people need to
supply statistics and formal research to be convincing?

8. The following questions will help you analyze an
organization’s culture:
• What are the organization’s goals? making money? serving
customers and clients? advancing knowledge? contributing to the
community?
• What does the organization value? diversity or homogeneity?
independence or being a team player? creativity or following orders?
• How do people get ahead? Are rewards based on seniority,
education, being well-liked, making technical discoveries, or serving
customers? Are rewards available to only a few top people, or is
everyone expected to succeed?
• How formal are behaviour, language, and dress?
• What behavioural expectations predominate? How do employees
treat one another? Do employees speak in “I,” “we,” or “them and
us” language? How do employees get organizational information?

9. • Use it to plan strategy, organization, style, document
design, and visuals.
• Strategy
• Choose appeals and reader benefits that work for the specific
audience .
• Use details and language that reflect your knowledge of, and
respect for, the specific audience, the organizational culture, and
the discourse community.
• Make it easy for the audience to respond positively.
• Include only necessary information.
• Anticipate and overcome objections .

10. • Organization
It’s usually better to get to the point right away. The major exceptions are:
• When you must persuade a reluctant reader
• When your audience would see the message as bad news and you want
to break the news gradually
• Anticipate and meet the audience’s expectations of format: make the
organizational pattern clear to the audience.
• Style
• Strive for clarity and accessibility: use simple words, a mixture of
sentence lengths, and short paragraphs with topic sentences.
• Use natural, conversational, personable, tactful language: avoid negative,
defensive, arrogant, and “red-flag” words—unfortunately, fundamentalist,
liberal, crazy, incompetent, dishonest—that may generate a negative reaction.
• Use the language that appeals to your audience.
• Use conversational language.

11. • Document Design
• Use telegraphing: bulleted lists, headings, and a mix of paragraph lengths
create white space.
• Choose the format, footnotes, and visuals expected by the organizational
culture or the discourse community.
• Photographs and Visuals
• Photos and visuals can make a document look more informal or more
formal. Carefully consider the difference between cartoons and photos
of “high art.”
• Use bias-free photographs. Unintentional cultural, gender, religious, and
economic assumptions can offend readers and lose business.
• Choose photographs and illustrations that project positive cultural
meanings for your audience.
• Do your research and audience analysis: some cultures (e.g., France and
Japan) use evocative photographs that bear little direct relationship to
the text. North American audiences expect photos to relate to the text.

12. Different needs of audiences
• Content and Choice of Details
• Always provide an overview—the introductory or topic sentence—
for reader orientation.
• In the body of the document, provide enough evidence to prove
your point.
• Level of Language
• Contemporary business communication uses conversational, semi-
formal language. Use “I” and “you,” and address your reader by
name. Do research, however, to discover your reader’s title
preference (for example, Mr., Ms.).
• When both internal and external audiences will read the document,
use a slightly more formal style and the third person; avoid “I.”
• Use a more formal style when you write to international audiences.

13. • Organization
• Organize your message based on the primary audience’s attitudes
toward it: give good news up front; provide the explanation
before you deliver the bad news.
• Organize documents to make reading easy: provide a table of
contents for documents more than five pages long so that your
readers can turn to the portions that interest them.
• Use headings as signposts: use headings to tell readers what
they’re about to read and to connect ideas throughout your
document. This strategy reinforces your credibility through unity
and coherence. If the primary audience doesn’t need details that
other audiences will want, provide those details in attachments or
appendices.

14. Technical Terms and Theory
• Know what your reader knows; then provide only the necessary
information. Use technical terms only if these will increase reader
comprehension
• Put background information and theory under separate headings.
Readers can use the headings to read or skip these sections, as
their knowledge dictates.
• If primary audiences will have more knowledge than other
audiences, provide a glossary of terms. Early in the document, let
readers know that the glossary exists.

15. How do I reach my audience?
Effective messages make use of multiple channels.
Communication channels vary in:
• transmission speed
• transmission accuracy
• cost
• efficiency
• audience impact
Your purpose, the audience, and the situation—known as the
communication context—will all determine which and how
many channels you choose

16. A written message makes it
easier to do several things:
• Present many specific details
of a law, policy, or procedure
• Present extensive or complex
financial data
• Minimize undesirable
emotions
Speaking is easier and more
efficient when you need to do
any of the following:
• Answer questions, resolve
conflicts, and build consensus
• Use emotion to help persuade
the audience
• Provoke an immediate action
or response
• Focus the audience’s attention
on specific points
• Modify a proposal that may not
be acceptable in its original
form

17. Oral and written messages have many similarities. In both,
you should do six things:
• Adapt the message to the specific audience.
• Show the audience members how they benefit
from the idea, policy, service, or product
• Overcome any objections the audience may have.
• Use a good attitude and positive emphasis
• Use visuals to clarify or emphasize material
• Specify exactly what the audience should do.

18. • Determining one's natural Myers Briggs Personality Type is frequently complicated by
our life-long learning experiences. The classic question is: " Am I this way because I
learned it or is this just the way I am?“
In reviewing the comparisons in our personality assessment, you may find yourself
drawn equally to opposing personality preference choices. In such cases I suggest you
try to think back to how you were before the age of 12 or even younger if you can
recall. The rationale for this suggestion is the fact that by the time we are 3 years old,
the core of our cognitive organization is well-fixed. . . although the brain continues to
allow some plasticity until puberty.
• After the onset of puberty, our adult learning begins to overlay our core personality -
which is when the blending of nature and nurture becomes more evident. For some
people, this "learning" serves to strengthen what is already there, but with others it
produces multiple faces to personality. Discovering or rediscovering this innate core of
yourself is part of the journey of using personality types to enrich your life.
• Each of the four questions of the CSI inventory has two parts. The first part is a
general description of the preference choices. The second part is a list of paired
statements. Use both parts to form your opinion on your more dominant preference.
•
•
•

24. • ISTJ - The Duty Fulfiller
• Serious and quiet, interested in security and peaceful living. Extremely thorough,
responsible, and dependable. Well-developed powers of concentration. Usually
interested in supporting and promoting traditions and establishments. Well-
organized and hard working, they work steadily towards identified goals. They can
usually accomplish any task once they have set their mind to it.
• ISTP - The Mechanic
• Quiet and reserved, interested in how and why things work. Excellent skills with
mechanical things. Risk-takers who they live for the moment. Usually interested in
and talented at extreme sports. Uncomplicated in their desires. Loyal to their peers
and to their internal value systems, but not overly concerned with respecting laws
and rules if they get in the way of getting something done. Detached and analytical,
they excel at finding solutions to practical problems.
• ISFJ - The Nurturer
• Quiet, kind, and conscientious. Can be depended on to follow through. Usually puts
the needs of others above their own needs. Stable and practical, they value security
and traditions. Well-developed sense of space and function. Rich inner world of
observations about people. Extremely perceptive of other's feelings. Interested in
serving others.

25. • ISFP - The Artist
• Quiet, serious, sensitive and kind. Do not like conflict, and not likely to do things
which may generate conflict. Loyal and faithful. Extremely well-developed senses,
and aesthetic appreciation for beauty. Not interested in leading or controlling
others. Flexible and open-minded. Likely to be original and creative. Enjoy the
present moment.
• INFJ - The Protector
• Quietly forceful, original, and sensitive. Tend to stick to things until they are done.
Extremely intuitive about people, and concerned for their feelings. Well-developed
value systems which they strictly adhere to. Well-respected for their perserverence
in doing the right thing. Likely to be individualistic, rather than leading or
following.
• INFP - The Idealist
• Quiet, reflective, and idealistic. Interested in serving humanity. Well-developed
value system, which they strive to live in accordance with. Extremely loyal.
Adaptable and laid-back unless a strongly-held value is threatened. Usually talented
writers. Mentally quick, and able to see possibilities. Interested in understanding
and helping people.

26. • INTJ - The Scientist
• Independent, original, analytical, and determined. Have an exceptional ability to
turn theories into solid plans of action. Highly value knowledge, competence, and
structure. Driven to derive meaning from their visions. Long-range thinkers. Have
very high standards for their performance, and the performance of others. Natural
leaders, but will follow if they trust existing leaders.
• INTP - The Thinker
• Logical, original, creative thinkers. Can become very excited about theories and
ideas. Exceptionally capable and driven to turn theories into clear understandings.
Highly value knowledge, competence and logic. Quiet and reserved, hard to get to
know well. Individualistic, having no interest in leading or following others.
• ESTP - The Doer
• Friendly, adaptable, action-oriented. "Doers" who are focused on immediate results.
Living in the here-and-now, they're risk-takers who live fast-paced lifestyles.
Impatient with long explanations. Extremely loyal to their peers, but not usually
respectful of laws and rules if they get in the way of getting things done. Great
people skills.

27. • ESTJ - The Guardian
• Practical, traditional, and organized. Likely to be athletic. Not interested in theory
or abstraction unless they see the practical application. Have clear visions of the
way things should be. Loyal and hard-working. Like to be in charge. Exceptionally
capable in organizing and running activities. "Good citizens" who value security
and peaceful living.
• ESFP - The Performer
• People-oriented and fun-loving, they make things more fun for others by their
enjoyment. Living for the moment, they love new experiences. They dislike theory
and impersonal analysis. Interested in serving others. Likely to be the center of
attention in social situations. Well-developed common sense and practical ability.
• ESFJ - The Caregiver
• Warm-hearted, popular, and conscientious. Tend to put the needs of others over
their own needs. Feel strong sense of responsibility and duty. Value traditions and
security. Interested in serving others. Need positive reinforcement to feel good
about themselves. Well-developed sense of space and function.

28. • ENFP - The Inspirer
• Enthusiastic, idealistic, and creative. Able to do almost anything that interests them. Great
people skills. Need to live life in accordance with their inner values. Excited by new ideas,
but bored with details. Open-minded and flexible, with a broad range of interests and abilities.
• ENFJ - The Giver
• Popular and sensitive, with outstanding people skills. Externally focused, with real concern
for how others think and feel. Usually dislike being alone. They see everything from the
human angle, and dislike impersonal analysis. Very effective at managing people issues, and
leading group discussions. Interested in serving others, and probably place the needs of others
over their own needs.
• ENTP - The Visionary
• Creative, resourceful, and intellectually quick. Good at a broad range of things. Enjoy
debating issues, and may be into "one-up-manship". They get very excited about new ideas
and projects, but may neglect the more routine aspects of life. Generally outspoken and
assertive. They enjoy people and are stimulating company. Excellent ability to understand
concepts and apply logic to find solutions.
• ENTJ - The Executive
• Assertive and outspoken - they are driven to lead. Excellent ability to understand difficult
organizational problems and create solid solutions. Intelligent and well-informed, they
usually excel at public speaking. They value knowledge and competence, and usually have
little patience with inefficiency or disorganization.

29. Thank you….
Have a fabulous day 