2. Chapter 3: Meeting the
Needs of the Audience
This chapter discusses the following:
Audience Recognition
Defining Terms for Different Audience Levels
Biased Language—Issues of Diversity
Multiculturalism
Sexist Language
Audience Involvement
3. Phil Wegman, Program Director of
Skills Enhancement for the
Center for Business and Technology
Phil says, “I receive two to three calls every
day from companies, desperate for Spanish
language training. They need to teach
their supervisors how to communicate
more effectively with customers as well as
with employees for whom English is a
second language.”
How does Phil meet
his communication
challenges?
4. Audience Recognition–
Knowledge of the Subject Matter
Clear communication is written at the
audience’s level of understanding.
Your audience’s knowledge of the subject
matter determines whether he or she is a
Specialist
Semi-specialist
Lay
You might write or speak to
many people. You then have
Multiple audiences
5. Audience Recognition–Specialist
Specialists have these traits:
Experts in the field of discussion
Work experience/education comparable to yours
Require less detail or background information
Do not generally need abbreviations/acronyms defined
6. Audience Recognition–Semi-
Specialist
Semi-Specialists have these traits:
Familiar with the subject matter, but it’s not within
their primary area of expertise
Understand some abbreviations/
acronyms but not all
Require more background information and detail than
specialists
7. Audience Recognition–Lay
Lay audiences have these traits:
Unfamiliar with the subject matter
Unfamiliar with abbreviations/acronyms
Need more background information and detail than specialists or semi-
specialists
8. Audience Recognition–Multiple
Audiences
You might speak to a large group or write a proposal to
many readers.
Multiple audiences include
combinations of specialists, semi-specialists, and lay
readers
10. Audience Variables
Knowledge of the Subject Matter
• Specialists
• Semi-specialists
• Lay audience
• Multiple readers and listeners
Roles
• Management
• Co-worker
• Subordinate
• Customer
• Vendor
• Other business professionals
Issues of Diversity
• Gender
• Age
• Race and/or Religion
• Sexual Orientation
• Disabilities
• Language and/or Culture of Origin—multicultural or cross-cultural
11. Biased Language—Issues of
Diversity
Audiences for written and spoken technical
communication will not always be just like you.
The audiences will be diverse.
12. Biased Language—Issues of
Diversity (cont.)
Diversity includes
Gender
Race/ethnicity
Religion
Age
Sexual orientation
Class
Physical and mental characteristics
Language
Family issues
NOTE:
You must use
language with
sensitivity.
Avoid biased
language.
NOTE:
You must use
language with
sensitivity.
Avoid biased
language.
13. Biased Language—Issues of
Diversity (cont.)
Understand the importance of diversity.
Diversity is protected by the law.
Respecting the diverse workplace is the right thing to do.
Diversity is good for business.
A diverse workforce keeps companies competitive.
14. Biased Language—Issues of
Diversity (cont.)
Insensitive and Biased Language
“The president, a woman, is in charge of a 36-branch operation.”
“He suffers from diabetes.”
“The old people needed more accessible seating.”
“Define terms for lower-class shoppers.”
15. Biased Language—Issues of
Diversity (cont.)
Sensitive and Unbiased Language
“The president is in charge of a 36-branch operation.”
“He has diabetes.”
“The senior citizens needed more accessible seating.”
“Define terms for shoppers.”
16. Multiculturalism
International business requires multicultural
communication, the sharing of written and oral
information between businesspeople from many
different countries.
17. The Challenges of Multicultural
Communication
Medtronic, a medical technology
company, does business in 120 countries.
Many of those countries mandate that
product documentation be written in the
local language.
Medtronic translates its manuals into 11
languages: French, Italian, German,
Spanish, Swedish, Dutch, Danish, Greek,
Portuguese, Japanese, and Chinese.
18. Multicultural Team Projects
You might work on a “virtual team”
project, communicating to colleagues
from many different countries.
You must be aware of international
Verbal and nonverbal
communication norms
Management styles
Decision-making procedures
Sense of time and place
Local values, beliefs, and attitudes
19. Communicating Globally . . . in Your
Neighborhood
Cross-cultural Communication--writing and speaking
between businesspeople of two or more different cultures
within the same country
“About 19 million people in the United
States are not proficient in English.”
20. Communicating Globally . . . in
Your Neighborhood (cont.)
By 2014, the U.S. workplace looked like this:
White
67%
Black
12%
Hispanic
16%
Asian
5%
21. Multiculturalism (cont.)
To meet the challenges of communicating to a
multicultural or cross-cultural audience, consider these
ten techniques:
22. Multiculturalism (cont.)
1. Define acronyms and abbreviations.
2. Avoid jargon or idioms.
3. Distinguish between nouns and verbs.
4. Watch for cultural biases and expectations.
5. Be careful with slash marks (/).
23. Multiculturalism (cont.)
6. Avoid humor and puns.
7. Leave space for translations.
8. Avoid figurative language.
9. Be Careful with Numbers, Measurements, Dates, and Times.
10. Use stylized graphics.
24. Practice Multiculturalism (cont.)
To: Jose Guerrero, Mexico City, Mexico Office; Yong Kim, Hong
Kong Office;Hans Rittmaster, Berlin Office
From: Leonard Liss, New York Office
Subject: Agenda for Teleconference
Time to wrap up that deal. If we don’t finish the project soon, we’re all behind
the
eight ball. So, here’s what I’m planning for the 03/07/09, 12:00 discussion:
Restructured design—rather than build the part at 8 x 10 x 23, let’s consider a
smaller design.
Shipping method—let’s use a new carrier/vendor. We’ve not had good luck
with Flyrite Overnight. I’m open to your suggestions. Let’s think outside the
box.
Brainstorm before our teleconference so we can tackle this topic pronto. My boss
needs our suggestions ASAP, so I need it even sooner. I know you’ll come through
with flying colors.
Where are the problems
in this e-mail?
25. Sexist Language
Fifty percent of the workforce is female.
Avoid sexist language, created through
Omission
Unequal treatment
Stereotyping
Sexist pronouns and nouns
26. Sexist Language (cont.)
Omission
When writing or speaking ignores
women, that’s biased sexism.
BAD
“With new technologies, men can
achieve great things.”
GOOD
“With new technologies, workers can
achieve great things.”
27. Sexist Language (cont.)
Unequal treatment
Referring to women in terms not applied to men is biased
sexism.
BAD
“Ms. Jones, the dizzy blonde, is Mr. Gardener’s assistant.”
GOOD
“Ms. Jones is Mr. Gardener’s assistant.”
28. Sexist Language (cont.)
Stereotyping
Writing or speaking that implies only men or
women do certain jobs is biased sexism.
BAD
“The auto mechanics are men of good standing in the
profession.”
GOOD
“The auto mechanics are all certified.”
BAD
“A nurse must fill out her patient’s forms correctly.”
GOOD
“A nurse must fill out patient forms correctly.”
29. Sexist Language (cont.)
Sexist pronouns and nouns
The pronouns “his” and “he” are masculine.
Nouns such as “mankind,” “manpower,” and “foreman” are
masculine.
Revise these pronouns and nouns for unbiased
communication.
30. Sexist Language (cont.)
BAD
“A good employee should make sure that his time
card is accurate .”
GOOD
“Good employees keep accurate time cards.”
BAD
“The foremen ensured that all workers cleaned up
the job site.”
GOOD
“The supervisors ensured that all workers cleaned
up the job site.”
32. Audience Involvement (cont.)
Personalized tone
Involve your audience by using pronouns:
You
Your
Us
We
Our
I
Me
My
NOTE:
Companies don’t write
to companies.
People write to people.
Pronouns personalize
the correspondence.
NOTE:
Companies don’t write
to companies.
People write to people.
Pronouns personalize
the correspondence.
33. Audience Involvement (cont.)
Reader benefit
Show how the audience benefits
Use positive words
NOTE:
Using “Please” and
“thank you” improve
the tone of your
correspondence.
NOTE:
Using “Please” and
“thank you” improve
the tone of your
correspondence.
NOTE:
Using words like
“advantage” and
“achieve” help to
sway an audience.
NOTE:
Using words like
“advantage” and
“achieve” help to
sway an audience.
