Audience
Analyze the following posters to determine which audience is targeted by each of these American Heart Association Ads.
What do you see?
Are you willing to look at it another way?
Does anyone else see something else?
And what do you see in this picture?
Are you willing to admit that there might be a different way of seeing this picture?
To be a successful writer, you must be willing to see your writing as others will see it. You must be willing to look at it from a different angle, from your reader's perspective.
The writer, for all practical purposes, does not exist without the assent of his readers, who have the power to shut him off at whim. This fact of life makes pleasing them absolutely critical. But that's only fair. If we're going to ask them to give us their time and attention, then we're in their debt, not the other way around; we must be prepared to repay their kindness with kindness of our own . . . .
How, then, do you serve your reader?
- John R. Trimble, Writing with Style, p. 7
How, then, do you serve your reader?
- John R. Trimble, Writing with Style, p. 7
Ask:
- What do I want my readers to think of me and my experience? Should I tell them how I felt and what I thought at the time of the event . . . ? Should I tell them how my perspective has changed . . . ?
- If my readers are likely to have had a similar experience, how can I convey the uniqueness of my experience or its special importance in my life? Should I tell them more about my background or the particular event . . .?
- If my readers are not likely to have had a similar experience, how can I help them understand what happened and appreciate its importance?
St. Martin's Guide to Writing, p. 51