What are you doing? And how will you do it? Getting to Know the Why of Tech Comm & Understanding Writing as a Process

2 Approach writing as a process:

3 Step 1: Understand purpose

4 Step 2: Consider reader obstacles

5 Step 3: Determine readers Lenovo for Business Audiences Section Customer Internal Peers Type Engineer Manager Marketer Level Naïve Informed Knowledgeable Expert Guru

Who are the users? What are their needs?: Executive Decision maker Bottom line Liabilities Benefits Marketer Effects Benefits to comm. Liabilities Unique Audience End User Use Benefits Weaknesses Instructions Tools

7 Step 4: Determine decision making levels

8 Step 5: Determine decision maker needs

9 Step 6: Collect and document

10 Step 7: Write an outline

11 Step 8: Write first draft quickly

12 Step 9: Revise in stages Content/Ideas Style Grammar Mechanics Layout

CHAPTER 4. ANALYZING YOUR AUDIENCE AND PURPOSE © 2013 BY BEDFORD/ST. MARTIN'S Now, more about audience

14 Determine four important characteristics of your audience: Who are your readers? Needs Expectations Use

15 Your readers have attitudes and expectations: Toward you Toward the subject About the document

16 Why and how will your readers use your document? Why is the reader reading your document? How will the reader read your document? What is the reader’s reading skill level? What is the physical environment in which the reader will read your document?

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19 Learn about your audience: Determine what you already know about your audience. Interview people. Read about your audience online. Search social media for documents your audience has written…yeah stalk them.

20 Understand seven cultural variables that lie “on the surface”: 1.political 2.economic 3.social 4.religious 5.educational 6.technological 7.linguistic

21 Understand six cultural variables that lie “beneath the surface”: 1.focus on individuals or groups 2.distance between business life and private life 3.distance between ranks 4.nature of truth 5.need to spell out details 6.attitudes toward uncertainty

22 Use these eight strategies when writing for readers from other cultures: Limit your vocabulary. Keep sentences short. Define abbreviations and acronyms in a glossary. Avoid jargon unless you know your readers are familiar with it.

23 Use these eight strategies when writing for readers from other cultures: Avoid idioms and slang. Use the active voice whenever possible. Be careful with graphics. Be sure someone from the target culture reviews the document.

Questions? Professor Singleton