Stevenson/Whitmore: Strategies for Engineering Communication 1 of 8 Rhetorical Situation
Stevenson/Whitmore: Strategies for Engineering Communication 2 of 8 Negotiating Rhetorical Demands Verify your emphasis Clarify your goal Analyze your audience
Stevenson/Whitmore: Strategies for Engineering Communication 3 of 8 Audience Analysis Who is my audience? What is their economic, social, and educational status? What are their political beliefs? What value is placed on education, environment, religion, and work? How old is my audience? What are the common values or beliefs of this age group?
Stevenson/Whitmore: Strategies for Engineering Communication 4 of 8 Audience Analysis Cont’d How does the audience relate to the subject? What issues make the audience angry or defensive? How can I present unpopular ideas? What authorities will convince them? Would stories and analogies help? How can I appeal to their values? What concerns and fears must I address?
Stevenson/Whitmore: Strategies for Engineering Communication 5 of 8 Audience Analysis Cont’d What Is the audience’s level of expertise? What does the audience already know? What level of technical information is appropriate? What content and conventions do they expect? What terms must be defined or are understood?
Stevenson/Whitmore: Strategies for Engineering Communication 6 of 8 Audience Analysis Cont’d How does the audience relate to me? What are the power relations? Given this relationship, how do I present myself? Am I an expert? How do I demonstrate that I am honest, trustworthy, and sympathetic?
Stevenson/Whitmore: Strategies for Engineering Communication 7 of 8 Audience Analysis Cont’d How do I relate to the audience? Do I respect the audience’s opinions and points of view? Am I committed to telling them what I believe to be true? Have I made things easy for them?
Stevenson/Whitmore: Strategies for Engineering Communication 8 of 8 Write or Speak? Is the topic controversial? Are you emotionally involved? Is the other person angry, upset or frustrated?