Audience Analysis and Adaptation
Almost unconsciously we make decisions about audience daily.
We might, for example, notice that we talk to very young children differently than to adults.
Or, we might talk to our coworkers in very different ways than to our managers. Despite, or
perhaps because of, the unconscious manner of these audience adaptation strategies, we
rarely consider either how or why we make such decisions.
But, we do make them. Witness, for instance, the ways in which a proposal might evolve as it
progresses from an idea discussed over lunch with coworkers to a formal presentation to some
corporate decision-making body.
All aspects of that process, from dress to speech to text to supporting information (visuals,
models, etc.) change as we confront different audiences. Similarly, we know that marketers
and politicians tailor their messages for specific segments of their "audience."
In this section about audience analysis and adaptation, you'll find the following information:
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An audience analysis outline
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Houp's approach for targeting audiences (classifies audiences as lay or general
audiences, managers, experts, technicians, and operators)
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Five audiences and how to write for them (provides some details for Houp's approach)
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NASA audiences (supplements "Five Audiences" web site and provides guidelines for
scientific researchers or experts, business professionals, educators, media specialists,
and general readers with additional, detailed advice for targeting general audiences)
Audience Analysis Outline
The material on this page is copyright by Philip Rubens. It is excerpted from Science and
Technical Writing: A Manual of Style. Holt, 1992. A second edition has been published by
Routledge, 2002.
Analyzing the Audience
Creating an Audience Profile
Selecting Appropriate Media
Planning Document Content
Analyzing the Audience
Before writing anything, describe an audience by:
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Identifying audience characteristics,
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Assessing their objectives and needs,
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Planning for subgroups within the audience.
Conducting the Audience Analysis
Conduct either a formal — based on surveys and questionnaires — or an informal — based on
discussions — analysis to create an audience profile.
Formal Audience Analysis
During formal analysis:
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Conduct surveys,
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Use structured interviews,
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Gather questionnaires.
Some organizations often do formal analyses as part of marketing planning.
Informal Audience Analysis
Gather information about the audience by talking with people who will read the final
document. For example, when writing
•
Product documentation, talk to people who use the product (or a similar product).
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An article for a periodical or journal, talk to people who read that publication.
Especially talk to those who have published in that or similar periodicals.
Interview marketing, development, and other staff. These specialists have market research
results, as well as access to customers.
When interviewing marketing and development staff, do the following:
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Ask open-ended questions and follow up on incomplete answers.
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Ask about the users' backgrounds: how they work, why they will read the document,
and what they need from it.
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Attend meetings at which the product or service will be discussed.
Find out about the audience by reading:
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Notes and reports by product trainers or maintenance personnel who have had contact
with the audience
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Previous issues of a specialized periodical.
Identifying Audience Characteristics
Identify the audience characteristics and remember them while writing. Before you begin
writing consider such important audience characteristics as
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Educational and professional background,
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Knowledge and experience levels,
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English-language ability,
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Reading situation.
Educational Background
Ask for information about educational background to assess the audience's reading ability and
its willingness to read. A college-educated audience should be able to read more difficult texts
than a high school- or grade school-educated audience.
In most cases, simple language - common words or technical terms appropriate to a particular
readership - and a direct style - typical sentences without unusual structures - offer the best
approach for all audiences.
Professional Background
Know the basic requirements of the jobs the readers perform. Do not confuse a job title with
professional functions. For example, readers of technical and science writing could perform
many professional roles at the same time:
•
Scientists can be doctors, engineers, programmers, or technicians.
•
Legislators can be judges or lawyers.
•
Any professional could be a manager.
Job functions can imply different levels of knowledge. Compare, for instance, the difference
between a design engineer's and a technician's knowledge of engineering theory.
Consider how a document will help readers do their jobs. Maintenance documents, for
instance, must have less text and, perhaps, more illustrations to help these readers complete
their work quickly.
Knowledge and Experience Levels
Use professional and educational background to determine the audience's knowledge and
experience on a subject. Use this information to evaluate what readers know and what
information they need.
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Categorize readers as a single-level audience if they are members of a specific group.
While it is difficult to assign readers to such exclusive groups, a useful distinction can
be novice, intermediate, and expert.
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Novices have minimal knowledge or experience, and may even fear the product or
subject. In reference information they want basic concepts and procedures. In
instructional materials, novices need to see quick results; successful experiences
reassure them.
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Intermediate audiences have some knowledge or experience. For example, if a
document shows how to operate a drill press, an intermediate audience may have
experience with similar equipment.
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Experts are typically very knowledgeable. For example, an expert using software
documentation may be a programmer who uses many of the software's applications.
•
However, a document that describes not only a particular subject matter (such as
chemistry), but also the use of a particular tool (such as a computer) or technique
(such as spectroscopy), complicates this view of the single-level audience.
Categorize readers as a multiple-level audience if they include technical experts
(programmers, engineers, scientists) who are unfamiliar with certain tools or techniques. For
example, the reader may have general knowledge and experience with mathematics, physics,
electronics, and spectrometry. However, she may be an inexperienced computer user and may
lack specific knowledge about emission spectroscopy. A document that describes how to use a
software package to obtain emission data, and how to interpret that data using specialized
mathematics, must address various levels of audience knowledge and experience.
Consider a document's implied as well as explicit audiences. For example, a technical manual
prepared for novices may also be read by financial managers. This same manual may also have
to support product maintenance. Hidden audiences affect a document's organization and style.
In the above example, for instance, the document may have a benefits summary for sales
purposes or provide a reference table for expert readers.
English-Language Ability
Consider the audience's English-language ability. Many people employed in technical disciplines
have graduated from U.S. universities but come from other countries; English may be their
second or even third language.
Consider, too, that a second technical language may be quite different from a second
conversational language. The technical author has advantages over other writers, because
technical English uses a small subset of the English language.
Reading Context
Consider the physical and psychological conditions under which the audience reads the
document:
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A scientific article, for instance, may be read in a relaxed atmosphere at home or in an
office.
•
A spreadsheet software tutorial may be read on the job, at the keyboard, while dealing
with interruptions.
•
A heavy-equipment maintenance manual may be read while repairing the equipment in
the field.
Identifying Audience Objectives and Needs
Use audience objectives and needs to shape how you approach the document:
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Objectives reflect what the audience wants to do after reading the document; for
example, install a videotape recorder.
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Needs indicate questions the audience will have that the document should answer.
Readers may not even know they will ask these questions, but the writer must
anticipate them—and supply answers.
Audience objectives may be long-term, short-term, personal, or job-related. They may or may
not be directly related to the document.
Note that most technical documentation is written for readers with job-related objectives.
Identify those objectives. Find out whether the audience will read the document to do a task,
or to expand its knowledge.
Addressing Diverse Audiences
To satisfy a diverse audience's needs, address both different experience levels and different
goals. Follow these general guidelines when writing for multiple audiences:
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Rank goals in terms of the questions the document must answer first, second, third,
etc.
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Write for one audience group at a time, and indicate which group you are addressing.
Expect that any other audiences may need the same information.
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Produce one document for all groups, or divide the information into more than one
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Include navigation aids—tables of contents and lists of figures and tables, page headers
document.
and footers, headings within the text, appendices, tab dividers, etc.—to make
information easy to find.
Creating an Audience Profile
Use the audience characteristics, objectives, and needs to develop an audience profile, or of
each subgroup of a diverse audience. To create the profile:
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Group related features in a written sketch of the typical reader,
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For a diverse audience, do a profile for each kind of reader,
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Form mental images of these composite people,
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Get to know the profiles before writing anything,
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Plan the document for typical readers and write to them,
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Provide the kind of information and presentation the readers need to achieve their
goals.
Selecting Appropriate Media
Technical and scientific communication employs a variety of media forms—brochures, booklets,
newsletters, articles, and technical manuals—each with specific characteristics and goals.
Communication Media Characteristics
Booklets
Ask for Action
Convince
Catchy, readable, graphic
Newsletters
Periodic information
Journalistic style
Technical Article
In-depth focus on a single topic
Style- journalistic to formal
Technical Manual
Details a product or process
Style depends on audience
Planning Document Content
After analyzing the audience and choosing the appropriate medium for the document, plan its
content. The document's structure, the information order and its level of detail is important
when describing a complicated concept or a technical task.
Document planning involves at least three activities:
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Collecting information about the subject,
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Selecting an organizational method, and
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Preparing an outline.
Collecting the Information
Base information collection procedures on the document type being prepared and the source
material available. For example, product specifications may be a good information source when
writing a technical manual, but less useful when writing a brochure. Laboratory notes may
supply important source information for a technical journal article, but not for a newsletter
article about the same research.
When written source material does not exist, rely on experience, interviews, and product
access to collect information:
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If the author is also the researcher or developer of the product to be documented,
experience and product knowledge are the major information sources.
•
If the author is not the developer, the author usually must interview the developer to
obtain information.
Be aware that someone can know too much about a topic to write about it effectively. If a
researcher writes her own material, for instance, she may easily make inappropriate
assumptions about audience knowledge, unless she remembers the audience characteristics.
Analyzing Written Source Material
Find extensive written source material, including marketing materials, earlier versions of
documentation, data sheets and specifications, and notes. By analyzing this material, the
author can:
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Determine whether it contains adequate source information,
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Formulate questions for interviews and/or subsequent research, and
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Consider where and how to find additional source information.
To prepare for the analysis, inventory the source materials and arrange them in an order that
supports the analysis (for example, order of presentation).
When assessing source materials, consider these questions:
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What is the purpose of each source document? What does it help users do?
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How is each source document organized? What is the organizational pattern? Does this
pattern support the document's purpose?
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What assumptions does each source document make about its readers?
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Does each source document include special terms? Does it define these terms? Should
it?
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Imagine a question that a reader might have about a topic in each source document.
Does the document contain information to answer that question?
During this assessment, keep in mind the audience needs and the document's goals. This focus
reduces the risk of missing important information or of spending too much time on unimportant
information.
Interviewing Sources
If a document's author is not the primary researcher or product developer, obtain information
from other people.
To prepare for an interview:
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Develop a list of questions;
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Give the interviewee an advance copy of the questions, if possible, to prompt ideas
before the discussion;
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Schedule the interview for a convenient time, place, and duration;
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Explore with the interviewee whether additional sessions are possible;
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Bring a tape recorder to the session.
Keep in mind that some interviewees will be comfortable and speak easily, while others will
have trouble communicating. Participate in and control the interview according to the
personality of the interviewee.
If the interviewee seems uncomfortable, start the interview with a question based on his or her
expertise. Ask for additional explanation as needed, or pose open-ended questions.
Conducting a Hands-On Evaluation
When evaluating a product before writing about it, pretend to be a target user. Think of tasks
the user must perform and then try to do them. Try to use all the basic product functions.
Observe whether they operate consistently; note any inconsistencies.
Organizing the Document
Whatever the medium, make the organization consistent and rational, so readers can follow it
easily and understand the information it presents. The type of medium—brochure or article,
newsletter or technical manual—plays a major role in document organization. A brochure, for
instance, might include specifications at the end; a technical reference manual is more likely
to begin with those specifications.
Understanding the Challenge
Document organization requires thinking about the readers' expected usage patterns and
needs. By thinking through the document, the author can begin to focus the information and
identify missing information. The author can also decide whether any information is
unnecessary, or whether there is too much information for one document.
Two factors make organizing a document a challenge. First, the organization must be intuitive.
A reader must be able to understand this plan by simply reading the document without further
explanation.
Second, to be sure that readers understand the organization the author must decide how to
guide readers through the document. Guideposts can be as simple as headings and crossreferences, or as elaborate as graphic icons and color-coding incorporated in the page design.
Understanding Typical Organizational Approaches
Be sure that a document's organization explains and logically arranges all necessary ideas.
Although there is no perfect organization for any technical or scientific document, some
organizational methods will be more appropriate than others, depending on the document's
audience and purpose.
Typical organizational approaches include chronological, spatial, climactic, and task-oriented.
Some documents may need an organization that combines more than one of these approaches.
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Use chronological organization when time is the organizing principle. It orders
information according to when concepts develop, events occur, or actions happen,
generally from the earliest to the latest.
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Use spatial organization when placement or geography is the organizing principle.
Consider, for instance, describing equipment by parts or components, or presenting
product sales figures or health statistics by geographic region.
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Use climactic organization to progress from least to greatest impact, conclude with the
most interesting or forceful concepts, ideas, or facts. Brochures, when convincing
readers to take action or make a decision, use this organization.
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Use task-oriented organization when readers will use information to do something, and
arrange it according to tasks. Thus, an instruction manual organizes its information into
procedures or activities users perform.
Outlining the Document
Outline a document to organize it and define its content before writing. The outline provides a
baseline for the document; parts of the outline may change during writing. Along with this
flexibility, an outline offers some useful advantages; it:
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Ensures planning and thinking before writing,
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Focuses on the document's purpose,
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Allows authors to try various organizing principles,
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Establishes the relative importance of topics,
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Controls the level of detail,
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Reveals missing information and other obstacles, and
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Provides the potential wording for headings.
Use a formal, detailed outline for reviewers who must approve a document.
Use an informal outline when the outline will only be a tool for the writer's use.
Preparing a Formal Outline
Prepare a formal outline to show a document's hierarchical structure. Depending on the level
of detail, the outline may present chapter titles, section headings, one or two levels of
subheadings, and even groups under subheadings. The formal outline's logical structure makes
clear the relationships among topics.
Most formal outlines:
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Identify the number of headings in a document,
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Evaluate the scope of the headings, and
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Determine if the available information covers the topic.
A formal outline should help reviewers judge a document's organization as well as the
completeness and accuracy of the information included. Because the outline should reveal the
author's assumptions about the topic, reviewers may also be able to correct any underlying
logical errors.
There are two types of formal outlines: topic and sentence. Although both outline types use
the same parts and groupings of ideas, a topic outline uses phrases to express the ideas while a
sentence outline uses complete sentences.
The following example shows the beginning of a topic outline:
1. Data network benefits
a. Shared software
b. Efficient data and file exchange
c. Shared equipment resources
2. Problems of evolving complex networks
a. Early networks
(1) Mainframe computers
(2) Terminals
(3) Single vendor
b. Today's networks
(1) Mainframe computers and terminals
(2) Microcomputers
(3) Minicomputers
(4) Local area networks (LANs)
(5) Multiple vendors
c. Compatibility issues
(1) Equipment/vendors
(2) Media
(3) Communication protocols
The following example shows how a sentence outline might present the same information:
1. Data networks provide modern computer environments with many benefits, including shared
resources, efficient file transfers, and electronic mail.
a. Networks simplify support through shared software.
b. Exchanging data through networks provides accuracy and reduces costs,
because all employees can access the same information.
c. Network users can also share equipment such as printers, plotters, and
storage devices.
2. As complex networks grow, managers face problems.
a. Early networks consisted of mainframe computers and terminals from one
manufacturer.
b. Now large organizations have also bought microcomputers, minicomputers,
and local area networks (LANs), often from many different manufacturers.
c. But most network hardware and software works only with limited networks:
one manufacturer's equipment, one or two programs, or one or two different
media.
Use the sentence outline when reviewers will evaluate the final document's style and tone.
Note how the sentence outline includes more detail and even implies a writing style and tone
for the document.
Use a paragraph outline to list the controlling idea of each paragraph, but not to indicate the
hierarchy of ideas.
1. Networks support modern computing facilities (include examples of network benefits).
2. Complex networks create problems for network managers (describe history and how it led to
problems).
This sample paragraph outline uses complete sentences; it could have used phrases or simply
key words.
Using the Nonlinear Outline
Some authors may feel uncomfortable with topic, sentence, and paragraph outlines, because
they are linear approaches to document organization. The nonlinear outline approach, in
contrast, is based on systems analysis, programming, and structured design/analysis.
Begin this outlining technique by writing the primary idea in the middle of a page. As related
ideas occur, add them around the primary idea as relational nodes and draw connections
among them. These connections extend to new ideas related to the secondary ideas, and so on.
Work at random within this outline, to combine, add, and delete nodes in any order or
direction.
Use the nonlinear outline to write the document by manually arranging index cards based on
the nodes on a surface, some separate, some overlapping, and some piled on top of one
another; then the document can be written by adding information to cards and adding cards to
accommodate new relationships.