Being John DocReader

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Being John BookReader
by Michael Knowles

When was the last time that you chose to stand in the shoes of
your reader. If you never use your imagination to put you there,
how do you know that you're writing for the right audience?

Answer: You don't.

The only difference between a bad writer and a good one (beyond
issues of basic mechanics) is that the good writer always keeps
an image of a single, specific reader in her mind. The writer
develops this image and focuses on it in all stages of a writing
project. I believe that the ability to write for a specific
reader is a practice that makes great technical writing
possible.

It is our divining rod.

I happened across a document this week that purported to be a
quick-start guide for a piece of lifesaving medical equipment.
This guide was 59 pages long. And the actual operating
instructions for this reasonably simple unit began on page 22.

Folks, that is not a quick-start guide.

Now, I do not for one minute believe that the writers of this
particular document lacked writing skills. They didn't. Nor do I
believe that they lacked an audience analysis; I'm sure they did
one. What they did lack was the image of an audience member --
the image of a specific person. The veil lifts when we do that,
and we see our work in a different light. We approach it
differently.

Imagine the clarity that would occur if, say, the writers of IRS
tax forms and instructions imagined themselves to be some
specific person -- say, your Uncle Henry, an auto mechanic who
dreads the very thought of doing his tax return. The writers, if
good writers they be, would create a far clearer set of
instructions because they developed empathy for a single
audience member. And Uncle Henry would likely not dread the
doing of his tax return quite so much because the materials
would be understandable.

Perhaps even a little more human.

We forget that our work is read by humans with real problems,
who have better things to do than read our work. Sorry to burst
your bubble, but it's true. Let's do these humans the service of
seeing them for who they are: people who need to get an
important task done without aggravation.

Please don't read this as a call for the elimination of audience
analysis from the writing process. An audience analysis is the
beginning of focus. And the end point is Uncle Henry, who wants
to retain the few hair follicles he has left on his head. Not
add them to the sack of dough he must send to his Uncle Sam.

Putting yourself into the readers shoes requires effort. It
forces you to take on what may be unfamiliar roles. In a way, it
is playacting.

Sounds like fun to me. And I for one can use all the fun I can
get.

Copyright (c) 2002 Michael Knowles. All Rights Reserved.

About the Author:

Michael Knowles is a business writer and publisher of
www. . He shows business professionals how to
write with power and clarity. Visit his professional site at
for a free consultation.