170 PART 2 Applying the Three-Step Writing Process
If writing full-time appeals to you, all the skills you are
developing in this course and the insights you are gaining into
communicating in a professional context will help. Combine
1 LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Identify the four aspects of
being sensitive to audience
needs when writing business
messages.
Readers and listeners are more
likely to respond positively when
they believe messages address
their concerns.
Adopting the “you” attitude
means speaking and writing in
terms of your audience’s wishes,
interests, hopes, and preferences.
Check out the “Five-Minute
Guide to Composing a Business
Message or Document” at the
end of the chapter.
Avoid using you and your when
doing so
• Makes you sound dictatorial
• Makes someone else feel
guilty
• Goes against your organiza-
tion’s style
this preparation with a few years of on-the-job experience,
and you’ll be ready to explore the possibility of striking out on
your own.1
Adapting to Your Audience: Being
Sensitive to Audience Needs
Kaleigh Moore (profiled in the chapter-opening Communication Close-Up) knows it
takes more than just a great idea to change the way people think. Whether consciously or
not, audiences greet most incoming messages with a selfish question: “What’s in this for
me?” If your readers or listeners don’t think you understand or care about their needs,
they probably won’t pay attention.
USING THE “YOU” ATTITUDE
Chapter 1 introduced the notion of audience-centered communication and the “you”
attitude—speaking and writing in terms of your audience’s wishes, interests, hopes, and
preferences. On the simplest level, you can adopt the “you” attitude by replacing terms
such as I, me, mine, we, us, and ours with you and yours:
Instead of This Write This
Tuesday is the only day that we can promise If you need a quick response, please submit your
quick response to purchase order requests. We purchase order requests on Tuesday.
are swamped the rest of the week.
At Construction Resources, we are proud to Ensure the integrity of your building projects with
supply the highest-rated engineered wood in the the highest-rated engineered wood in the entire
entire Midwest. Midwest.
Of course, you will have occasions when it is appropriate to write or speak from your
perspective, such as when you are offering your opinions or reporting on something you
have seen. Even in those instances, though, make sure you focus on your readers’ needs.
Also, be aware that the “you” attitude involves a lot more than just using particular
pronouns. It’s a matter of demonstrating genuine interest in your readers and concern
for their needs (see Figure 5.1). You can use you 25 times in a single page and still offend
your audience or ignore readers’ true concerns. If you’re writing to a retailer, try to think
like a retailer; if you’re dealing with a production supervisor, put yourself in that posi-
tion; if you’re writing to a dissatisfied customer, imagine how you would feel at the other
end of the transaction.
Be aware that on some occasions, it’s better to avoid using you, particularly if doing
so will sound overly authoritative or accusing:
Instead of This Write This
You failed to deliver the customer’s order on time. The customer didn’t receive the order on time.
You must correct all five copies by noon. All five copies must be corrected by noon.
As you practice using the “you” attitude, be sure to consider the attitudes of other
cultures and the policies of your organization. In some cultures, for instance, it is im-
proper to single out one person’s achievements because the whole team is considered
responsible for the outcome. In such cases, using the pronoun we or our (when you and
your audience are part of the same team) would be more appropriate. Similarly, some
companies have a tradition of avoiding references to you and I in formal documents.