Audience Analysis and Adaptation
Almost unconsciously we make decisions about audience daily.
We might, for example, notice that we talk to very young children differently than to adults. Or, we might talk to our coworkers in very different ways than to our managers. Despite, or perhaps because of, the unconscious manner of these audience adaptation strategies, we rarely consider either how or why we make such decisions.
But, we do make them. Witness, for instance, the ways in which a proposal might evolve as it progresses from an idea discussed over lunch with coworkers to a formal presentation to some corporate decision-making body.
All aspects of that process, from dress to speech to text to supporting information (visuals, models, etc.) change as we confront different audiences. Similarly, we know that marketers and politicians tailor their messages for specific segments of their "audience."
Read more about preparing to meet audience needs: Audience Analysis Outline
The sources below offer additional information.
Additional Resources
Houp's
Approach for Targeting Audiences
Five
Audiences and How to Write for Them (provides some details for
Houp's approach)
NASA (supplements "Five
Audiences" web site,
providing some different audiences and some additional advice for targeting
general audiences)
Color
(adapting an article for experts for general audience)