Connecting with your audience

Do you write as part of your job? How do you engage with your readers and make sure that you’re meeting their needs? Read on to discover one simple trick to do to keep your reader upper most in your mind as you write.

What you write is important. It can and should make a difference. You want your reader to be glad they’ve read what you’ve written and that what you communicate is clear and has a positive, impactful effect on the reader.

Absolutely.

But what you write isn't about you. I'll say that again. What you write isn't about you.

It's about your reader.

So, first up, who is your reader?

What do they need from you? What would help them? Do they want lots of detail or just the broad brush strokes?

Finding this out goes a long way.

Here are two examples; one showing how not doing this means you can get bitten on the ass and the other where it fits in perfectly with what the reader wants.

I used to work for a charity in Edinburgh. And one day I had to write a report and make a presentation to the board about the programme I was leading. After the meeting my boss told me that they were disappointed and surprised. I hadn’t included nearly enough detail.

😳

The problem? I’d not explored fully the level of analysis that they were after in that report.

Contrast this with a different audience, an Icelandic client of mine whom I’ve worked with before. They’ve recently asked for more details on courses that I offer. I’ve put together information that is brief, to the point and covers the main learning outcomes of each course and then I’ve done a section with a bit more detail about how I do this. I know from experience that this client likes their communication to be crisp and business like.

The lessons from these examples? It’s really worth finding out what level of information your reader wants from you.

Once you know what your reader wants, put a picture of them beside your computer or even just write down their name on a Post-it along with 3 things that your reader wants from what you're writing.

Keep this in your line of vision when you're working to remind you.

Once you're done with the writing, read it over with this question in mind "Does it meet the needs of my audience?"

And then, edit accordingly.

So - whose picture are you going to put beside your computer this week?