1. Adapting Your Message to Your Audience
Module 2
Adapting Your Message to Your Audience
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

2. ©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
Module 2
Skills to
Analyze your audience when composing messages
Adapt the content, organization, and form of your messages to meet audience needs
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

3. ©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
Module 2 Outline
1/Who is my audience?
2/Why is audience so important?
3/What do I need to know about my audience?
4/How do I use audience analysis to reach my audience?
5/What if my audiences have different needs?
6/How do I reach my audience?
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

4. ©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
Kinds of Audiences
Initial Audience: First to receive the message, may route to other audiences, may have requested the message
Primary Audience: Makes the decision: to act on your message—or not
Secondary Audience: May comment on your message or implement ideas within the message
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

5. ©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
Kinds of Audiences
Gatekeeper Audience: May stop a message, may be the initial audience, may be external to the organization
Watchdog Audience: Pays attention to the messaging between the author and the primary audience, may act on message in the future
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

6. The Communication Process
Perception
Interpretation
Choice/ Selection
Encoding/ Decoding
Channel
Noise
The Communication Process
Reality
Stimulus
*Transmission
through a
Channel
*Perception
*Perception
*Decoding
*Interpretation
*Interpretation
*Choice/Selection
*Choice/Selection
*Encoding
*Encoding
*Feedback
Person B
Person A
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

7. Audience Analysis Factors
What do I need to know about my audience?
Everything that’s relevant to your message!
What is relevant?
Their Knowledge Base, Demographic Factors, Personality, Values and Beliefs, Past Behaviour
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

8. Adapting Messages to an Audience
How do I use audience analysis to reach my audience?
Your adapted message should reflect a unique: Strategy, organization or structure, word choice, style, document design, photographs and visuals
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

9. ©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
Discourse Community
What is a discourse community?
Group of people who share assumptions about
The channels, formats, and styles to use
The topics to discuss
How to discuss topics
What constitutes evidence
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

10. Organizational (Corporate) Culture
Behaviour norms in organizations are revealed
Verbally through the organization’s myths, stories, and heroes.
Nonverbally through the allocation of space, money,
and power.
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

11. ©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
Audience Needs
To reach your audience, focus on
Content and choice of details.
Organization.
Level of language.
Technical terms and theory.
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

12. ©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
Written Messages
Make it easier to
Present many specific details
Present extensive or complex financial data
Minimize undesirable emotions
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

13. ©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
Oral Messages
Make it easier to
Answer questions, resolve conflicts, build consensus
Use emotion to help persuade
Get an immediate action or response.
Focus attention on specific points
Modify a proposal not acceptable in its original form
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.

14. For Written and Oral Messages
Adapt the message to the audience.
Show the audience how it will benefit from the idea, policy, service, or product.
Overcome objections the audience may have.
Use a good attitude and positive emphasis.
Use visuals to clarify or emphasize material.
Specify what the audience should do.
©2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited.
All rights reserved.