Introduction to Health Professions Adapting Your Message to

Introduction to Health Professions Adapting Your Message to Your Audience 1 -1

Understanding What Your Organization Wants � Succeeding in an organization depends first on understanding what “counts” at your organization. ‒ Ask your boss, “What parts of my job are most important? What’s the biggest thing I could do to improve my work? ” ‒ Listen to the stories colleagues tell about people who have succeeded and those who have failed. ‒ Observe.

Kinds of Audiences � Initial Audience � Gatekeeper � Primary Audience � Secondary Audience � Watchdog Audience

PAIBOC P What are your purposes in writing? A Who is (are) your audiences? I What information must your message include?

PAIBOC continued B What reasons or reader benefits can you use to support your position? O What objections can you expect your reader(s) to have? C How will the context affect reader response?

The Communication Process The Communication Model � � � Perception Interpretation Choice/ Selection Encoding/ Decoding Channel Noise

Audience Analysis Factors � Empathy � Knowledge � Demographic Factors � Values and Beliefs � Personality � Past Behavior

Discourse Community � A group of people who share assumptions about ‒ What channels, formats, and styles to use. ‒ What topics to discuss. ‒ How to discuss topics. ‒ What constitutes evidence.

Organizational (Corporate) Culture � Norms of behavior in an organization are revealed ‒ Verbally through the organization’s myths, stories, and heroes. ‒ Nonverbally through the allocation of space, money, and power.

Adapting Messages to an Audience � Strategy � Organization � Word Choice � Document Design � Photographs and Visuals

Gatekeepers and Primary Audience � To reach, focus on ‒ Content and choice of details. ‒ Organization. ‒ Level of formality. ‒ Use of technical terms and theory.

Written Messages � Make it easier to ‒ Present many specific details. ‒ Present extensive or complex financial data. ‒ Minimize undesirable emotions.

Oral Messages � Make it easier to ‒ Answer questions, resolve conflicts, and build consensus. ‒ Use emotion to persuade. ‒ Get immediate action or response. ‒ Focus the reader’s attention. ‒ Modify a proposal unacceptable in its original form.

Communication Channels � Channels vary according to ‒ Speed. ‒ Accuracy of transmission. ‒ Cost. ‒ Number of messages carried. ‒ Number of people reached. ‒ Efficiency. ‒ Ability to promote goodwill.

For Written and Oral Messages � Adapt the message to the audience. � Show the audience how it will benefit from the idea, policy, service, or product. � Overcome any objections the audience may have.

For Written and Oral Messages (cont. ) � Use you-attitude and positive emphasis. � Use visuals to clarify or emphasize material. � Specify what the audience should do.