1. Audience Recognition and Involvement Presented By : Anupma Singh

2. Objective: Is to make you understand about the importance of ‘Audience Recognition’ and ‘Audience Involvement’ in a Technical Communications.

3. What you understand when the word “Audience” comes in your mind ?

4. Audience :  When you write any letter, memo or reports, someone reads it. That individual or group of readers or listeners is your audience.  In technical writing the writer and reader both are fused.  When a technical writing is submitted, the reader responds.

5. Audience Recognition : While writing a technical document ask yourself some questions i.e. I. Who is your reader ? II. What is his/her level of understanding ? III. What is his/her position in relation to your job title ?

6. Develop a profile of Audience If you want to write well then develop a profile of your audience. The following profile will help you achieve audience recognition  High tech audience  Low tech audience  Lay audience  Multiple audience Types of Audience

7. High-tech Audience  Works in your field of expertise.  They works directly with you in your department or similar capacity in other company.  Can be termed as colleagues.

8. Characterstics of High-tech Audience 1) Are experts in your field. 2) High tech jargons, acronyms and abbreviations can be used. 3) Minimal details about standard procedures or technical theories. 4) Little background information about a project’s history.

9. Low-tech Audience  Familiar with your field’s technology but do not know the details.  Includes Subordinates Co-workers in other departments. Colleagues in other companies.

10. Characterstics of Low-tech Audience 1) Familiar with your field’s technology without knowing details. 2) Preferable to define jargon, abbreviation and acronyms. 3) Define technical concepts. 4) providing background information.

11. Lay Audience  Do not work for the company and have no knowledge about your field of expertise.  Includes  Writing to lay audience is difficult and demanding. Customers Clients End Users

12. Characterstics of Lay Audience 1) Unfamiliar with your field’s technology. 2) Avoid terms, abbreviations and acronyms. 3) Avoid high-tech terms. 4) Lay readers need background information.

13. Multiple Audience  Correspondence is not always sent to just one type of audience.  Challenging to write for multiple audience with different levels of understanding.

14. Characterstics of Mutiple Audience 1) Provide background data. (Use References) 2) Define jargons, abbreviations and acronyms. (Within parenthesis) 3) Extended definitions of one or more paragraphs.

15. Defining terms for different Audience Level : 1.High Tech Audience Use jargon, acronym or abbreviation alone Example: HTTP 2.Low Tech Audience Use jargon, acronym or abbreviation with parenthetical definition. Example:- HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

16. Defining terms for different Audience Level : 3. Lay Audience Use jargon, acronym or abbreviation with extended definition. Extended definition = Term + Type + Distinguishing Characteristics. Example:- HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a computer access code providing secure communications on networks.

17. Multicultural Audiences  It is also another feature of diversity.  It includes: Global Economy Different Cultures etc.  Define Acronyms and abbreviations.  Avoid jargons and idioms.

18. Multicultural Audiences Ctd..  Distinguish between Nouns and Verbs.  Avoid humor or puns.  Avoid figurative language.  Be careful with numbers, measurements, dates, times, facts & figures.  Use of nouns, pronouns and grammar.

19. Avoid Sexist Language  Omission  Unequal Treatment  Stereotyping  Pronouns  Nouns

20. Omission × Biased Radium was discovered by a women, Marie Curie. Unbiased Radium was discovered by Marie Curie.

21. Unequal Treatment Modifiers that describe women in physical terms not applied to men are patronizing. × Biased The poor women could no longer go on; the exhausted men… Unbiased The exhausted men and women could no longer go on.

22. Stereotyping × Biased The secretary brought her boss’s coffee. Unbiased The secretary brought the boss’s coffee.

23. Pronoun × Biased A good lawyer will make sure that his clients are aware of their rights. Unbiased A good lawyer will make sure that his or her clients are aware of their rights.

24. Noun × Biased Manpower The common man Unbiased Workers The average citizen

25. Audience Involvement “ Audience involvement means your audience is actively comparing what you are sharing with what they already know, evaluating it raising concerns and participating in a dialogue.” (Josh Gordon,2007)

26. →YES !!!,, If you grab the audience attention and keep your reader interested. You have their involvement too.

27. Achieve Audience Involvement Through 1) Personalized Tone Modern technical writing is person to person communication. i. Pronoun Usage (You/Your, We/us/our, I, etc.) ii. Names (Mr. Singh, etc.) iii. Contractions (we’re, let’s, can’t, etc.)

28. Achieve Audience Involvement Through 2) Reader Benefit a. Explain the Benefit State benefits early or late in the technical document. b. Use Positive Words and Verbs × We have received your letter complaining about our services. ×I can’t solve this case. Thank you for writing to us about our services. I can learn to solve it.

29. THANK YOU !