GENG8000

Engineering Technical
Communications

Audience, Purpose,
Rhetorical Situation

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 Agenda

• Audience and Purpose

• Rhetorical Situation / Considerations

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What are some considerations
we need to make when we
communicate with others in a
technical/professional setting?

1. AUDIENCE
2. PURPOSE

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 Audience
All technical communication is intended for
people who will use and react to the
information—your audience. Before you start
writing, you need to identify precisely who will
be reading the document and understand how
that particular audience will use your material.

Source: Lannon, J.M. & Gurak, L.J. (2017). Technical communication. (pp. 16-28). 4
New York, N.Y.: Pearson Education, Inc.
 Primary and Secondary
Audience
When writing a technical document, keep two
audiences in mind.

• Primary audience: The immediate audience of

readers.
• Secondary audience: Individuals outside the
immediate circle of people who will be needing the
information directly.

Source: Lannon, J.M. & Gurak, L.J. (2017). Technical communication. (pp. 16-28). 5
New York, N.Y.: Pearson Education, Inc.
Your Relationship to Your Readers
Consider the following when you assess audience:

• Are they superiors, colleagues, or subordinates?

• Are they inside or outside of your organization?
• Do you know them personally?
• Are multiple types of relationships involved?

Source: Lannon, J.M. & Gurak, L.J. (2017). Technical communication. (pp. 16-28). 6
New York, N.Y.: Pearson Education, Inc.
 Construct an Audience Profile
Consider the following when you assess audience:

• What is their professional role and experience?

• What education and credentials do they possess?
• What is their technical expertise?
• What is their cultural / personal background?
• What are their attitudes toward your topic?

Adapted from House , R., Layton, R., Livingston, J., & Mosely, S. (2017). The engineering
communication manual. New York, N.Y.: Oxford UP. 7
 Assess the Audience’s
Technical Background
Decide whether your document should be highly
technical, semitechnical, or nontechnical:

Source: Lannon, J.M. & Gurak, L.J. (2017). Technical communication. (pp. 16-28). 8
New York, N.Y.: Pearson Education, Inc.
 Identify the Audience’s
Cultural Background
• What culture or cultures does your audience
represent?

• How might cultural differences shape readers’

expectations and interpretations?

• Consider how cultural differences might

create misunderstanding in any situation, and
seek an approach that bridges these
differences.
Source: Lannon, J.M. & Gurak, L.J. (2017). Technical communication. (pp. 16-28). 9
New York, N.Y.: Pearson Education, Inc.
 Anticipate Your
Audience’s Preferences
Readers approach any document with certain
preferences:

• Length and details: Were you asked to “keep it

short” or to “be comprehensive”? Are people more
interested in conclusions and recommendations, or do
they want everything spelled out?

• Format and medium: Do they want a letter, a memo,

an email, a short report, or a long, formal report with
supplements? Should it be written, oral, digital? A
combination?

Adapted from Lannon, J.M. & Gurak, L.J. (2017). Technical communication. (pp. 16- 10
28). New York, N.Y.: Pearson Education, Inc.
Anticipate Your Audience’s
Preferences
• Tone: Do they expect your tone to be formal,
semiformal, or informal?

• Due date and timing: Is there a deadline? How

can you break down the deadline into milestones?
Will any of your information become outdated if
you wait too long to complete the document?

• Budget: Does your document have a production

budget? If so, how much? Where can you save
money?
Source: Lannon, J.M. & Gurak, L.J. (2017). Technical communication. (pp. 16-28). 11
New York, N.Y.: Pearson Education, Inc.
 Purpose
Spell out precisely what you want your document
to accomplish and how you expect readers to use
it—your purpose.

• What is the main purpose of the document?

• What other purpose or purposes does the document
serve?
• What will readers do with this information?
• What information does this audience need?

Source: Lannon, J.M. & Gurak, L.J. (2017). Technical communication. (pp. 16-28). 12
New York, N.Y.: Pearson Education, Inc.
Intended Use of the Document
Also consider how and why a document will be
used by others:

• Do my readers simply want to learn facts or

understand concepts?
• Will they use my information in making some type
of decision?
• Will people act immediately on the information?
• Do they need step-by-step instructions?
• In my audience’s view, what is most important
about this document?

Source: Lannon, J.M. & Gurak, L.J. (2017). Technical communication. (pp. 16-28). 13
New York, N.Y.: Pearson Education, Inc.
 Three Primary Purposes of
Technical Communication
• Informational documents anticipate and
answer questions.
• Instructional documents help people
perform a task.
• Persuasive documents encourage
readers to take a desired action.
• Note: Technical Communication sometimes
involves evaluating past action.
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Informational Purpose

Source: http://nepis.epa.gov 15
Instructional Purpose

Source: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/evacuation/portable_use.html 16
Persuasive Purpose

Source: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/evacuation/portable_use.html 17
THE RHETORICAL SITUATION

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 The Rhetorical Situation

A rhetorical approach to communication

shapes what we write and say by developing
our ideas within a holistic, contextual model
of the situations in which we are working.

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 The Rhetorical Situation
Context Audience Pathos

Genre and
Medium

Speaker/
Writer
Content Logos
Ethos

Adapted from House , R., Layton, R., Livingston, J., & Mosely, S. (2017). The 20
engineering communication manual. New York, N.Y.: Oxford UP.
 Logos
• Logos = Logic / Truth
• Content
• Must consider what will
count as sufficient evidence
or appropriate proof within
your profession or
organization
• Quantitative vs. Qualitative
Adapted from House , R., Layton, R., Livingston, J., & Mosely, S. (2017). The 21
engineering communication manual. New York, N.Y.: Oxford UP.
 Ethos
• Ethos = Ethics
• Speaker / Writer
• Conveying:
– Character
– Credibility
– Competence
• Establishing your ethos
successfully means convincing
others that you are trustworthy
– that you know what you are
talking about and that your
motives are genuine
Adapted from House , R., Layton, R., Livingston, J., & Mosely, S. (2017). The 22
engineering communication manual. New York, N.Y.: Oxford UP.
 Pathos

• Pathos = Empathy
• Audience
• Exigence
• Working with others’ values in mind creates a
crucial perspective for both your engineering
practice and communication, aligning your
work and your message with the priorities,
concerns, and beliefs of the people to whom
you’re speaking or writing.

Adapted from House , R., Layton, R., Livingston, J., & Mosely, S. (2017). The 23
engineering communication manual. New York, N.Y.: Oxford UP.
Think of exigence as the answer
to the question So what?
• One of the most important uses of pathos is to
address the reasons that different audiences are
most likely to care about the issues you’re
discussing.

• Exigence – the urgency or requirement for

communication (purpose)

• Rhetorical term for a community’s motivation to

care about a situation, to see it as important and
worthy of attention.

Adapted from House , R., Layton, R., Livingston, J., & Mosely, S. (2017). The 24
engineering communication manual. New York, N.Y.: Oxford UP.
 Genre Considerations
• Genres are categories of documents that
arrange their content in well-known ways.
• Genre governs the expectations of
audiences.
• “Plug and Chug” doesn’t work!
• You will not be given templates in this
class.
• Remember the rhetorical situation!
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 The Rhetorical Situation
Context Audience Pathos

Genre and
Medium

Speaker/
Writer
Content Logos
Ethos

Adapted from House , R., Layton, R., Livingston, J., & Mosely, S. (2017). The 26
engineering communication manual. New York, N.Y.: Oxford UP.