COMMUNICATING

EFFECTIVELY TO
DIFFERENT
AUDIENCES
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of our discussion, you will be
able to:
A. Achieve audience recognition and
identify how the audience affects
writing;
B. Distinguish among high-tech, low-
tech, and lay audiences; and
C.Define terms for different audience
levels.
 AUDIENCE

INTERNAL EXTERNAL
Team/group Vendor
Subordinate Prospective
Client/Customer
Colleague
Existing Client
Superior
Consultant

WIFM?
What’s in it for me?
MOVEMENT OF COMMUNICATION WITHIN A COMPANY

Company CEO
Up

Upper-level Management

Up

Immediate Supervisor

Up
Co-workers in other Laterally Departmental co-
departments Employee workers with same
throughout the Laterally job responsibilities
company
Down

Subordinates
 Example of Possible Audiences

Auditor

Vendor CEO Other Corporations

Newspaper Supervisor Judge/Jury

Other Departments Manager Customers

Writer Coworkers

Subordinate
A. High Tech Peers know as much about a
subject matter as you. They have the same
job title, same education, same years of
experience, and the same level of expertise.

B. Low Tech Peers who work in your

company know something about the subject
matter. They may not have the same job
title, education, years of experience, or
level of expertise.

C. Lay Readers are your customers. They are

completely out of the loop.
AUDIENCE STYLE EXAMPLE
High Tech Abbreviations/ Please review the enclosed OP
Peers Acronyms OK and EN.
Low Tech Abbreviations/ Please review the enclosed OP
Peers Acronyms need (Operating Procedure) and EN
parenthetical (Engineering Notice).
definitions.
Lay No abbreviations/ By following the enclosed
Readers acronyms operating procedure, you can
Explanations ensure that your printer will run
to our engineers’ desired
instead.
performance levels.
AUDIENCE STYLE EXAMPLE
Use jargon, acronym,
High Tech The waste water is being
Peers or abbreviation alone. treated for DBPs.
Low TechUse jargon, acronym, The waste water is being
Peers or abbreviation with a treated for DBPs
parenthetical (disinfection by-products).
definition.
Lay Use jargon, acronym, The waste water is being
Readers or abbreviation with a treated for DBPs
parenthetical (disinfection by-products),
definition and a brief such as acid, methane,
explanation or chorine, and ammonia.
extended definition.
 DEFINING
TERMS
FOR
AUDIENCES
 DEFINING TERMS FOR
AUDIENCES
Parenthetically
In a sentence
In an extended
paragraph
Glossary
 DEFINING TERMS FOR
AUDIENCES
PARENTHETICALLY
Rather than just writing CIA, write
CIA (cash in advance) or cash in
advance (CIA). Such parenthetical
definitions, which are only used
once per correspondence, don’t
take a lot of time and won’t offend
your readers.
 DEFINING TERMS FOR
AUDIENCES
DEFINING YOUR TERMS IN A SENTENCE:
Term + Type + Distinguishing characteristics.
 DEFINING TERMS FOR
AUDIENCES
USING EXTENDED DEFINITIONS OF
ONE OR MORE PARAGRAPHS:
A video card (graphics accelerator card, display adapter,
or graphics card) is a type of printed circuit that can be
inserted into an expansion slot of a computer’s
motherboard. The video card creates and outputs
images to a display. Functions of a video card can
include video capture, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 decoding,
TV output, or the ability to connect multiple monitors.
 DEFINING TERMS FOR
AUDIENCES
USING GLOSSARY:
GLOSSARY
ADC Analog to digital converter
Analog A variable signal continuous in both time and amplitude
DAC Digital to analog converter
LAN Local area network
PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network-analog phone systems
ROI Return of investment
Voice signal Allows users to access phone options with a single voice
command
VolP Voice over internet protocol
WAN Wide area network
 DEFINING TERMS FOR
AUDIENCES
USING GLOSSARY:
GLOSSARY
CPA Certified public accountant
FICA Federal Insurance Contributions Act (Social Security
taxes)
Franchise Official establishment of a corporation’s existence
Gross pay Pay before deductions
Line of credit Amount of money that can be borrowed
Net pay Pay after all deductions
Profit and loss Report showing all income and expenses for a
statement specified time