Before You Write: Get to Know Your Audience and Identify Your Main Message

In this module, you’ll get answers to key questions like:

• How can I target the right audience with my writing?
• What are consumer audiences looking for — and how can I provide it?
• How can I make my writing for professionals clearer and more effective?
• Are “clear communication principles” just a nice way of saying I should dumb down my work?

After you take this course, you’ll be better able to:

1. Understand the legal — and ethical — importance of using clear communication
2. Target your writing to meet the needs of specific audiences
3. Identify the purpose and main message of your document
4. Make your writing actionable, so users know what to do after reading it

Remember that clear communication is the law. The 2010 Plain Writing Act requires that federal agencies use plain language in documents for consumers. But clear writing isn’t just a legal obligation. It’s an ethical one, too. Why?

• 1 out of 2 people struggle with reading
• 9 out of 10 people have difficulty with health literacy

By getting to know your audience and using clear writing, you’ll reach more people with your message. You’re overcoming barriers — language issues, literacy, level of education — and getting people key information they need to protect their health.

Source: Health literacy basics (n.d.). Retrieved September, 8, 2014, from https://health.gov/communication/literacy/quickguide/factsbasic.htm

Let’s say you’re working on a new project about an environmental health issue. But who’s it for?

• A colleague?
• A health professional, like a doctor or toxicologist?
• A worried mother?

Your intended audience matters. Your audience shapes not just how but what you write. That’s why it’s essential that you have a specific audience in mind before you start writing.

Look at the images below to find out who these people are and what they want to know.

Your target audiences aren’t just looking for information. People want to know what they need to do. So help your readers by always giving suggestions that they can act on.

What do you want your audience to know or do after they read your material?

For example:

• Increase the number of households that have a battery-powered carbon monoxide detector.
• Increase primary care providers’ knowledge of hazardous substances in the environment that trigger asthma.

The purpose is your main communication goal. It will depend on your audience.

Take a look at this sample. What’s it about? Summarize the purpose in just one sentence. Then, write down who you think it’s for — the intended audience.

When writing for consumers, think about what they want — and how they might feel. In many cases, they’re worried. They’ve come to look for something.

• How do I know if my kids’ school has asbestos?
• Is something at work making my asthma worse?

Remember that the information we provide can be confusing or alarming. How would you talk to a family member about the risks of an environmental toxin? Present information in a reassuring, helpful way.

We’re all bombarded with information every day. And we can only take in a limited amount at one time. So in your work, make every sentence, every idea count. Ask yourself — does my reader need to know this?

There’s a nasty rumor about using plain language — that it’s just “dumbing down” your writing. But it’s not. Nobody likes being confused. Think about the last time you struggled with a set of poorly written instructions.

There’s no need to sacrifice accuracy for clarity — you can use plain language and still be scientifically accurate. Clear writing is something your readers understand the first time they read it.

Source: What is plain language? (n.d.). Retrieved September 5, 2014, from http://www.plainlanguage.gov/whatisPL/

As a communicator, having an important, compelling idea isn’t enough. If your work isn’t targeted for the right audience and focused on your main message, you may not reach the people who need to hear it. Don’t let that happen.

While you’re writing, keep coming back to these key questions:

• Who am I trying to reach?
• What am I trying to tell them?

That’s your audience and your main message. Let them guide you as you write.