Technical documents can vary widely in their level of complexity.   They can be so steeped in technical concepts and language that only those expert in the subject matter can understand;  or they can be simplified enough such that an end-user can follow.

The kind of content that finds its way into any technical document will always depend on your audience.  Here are some tips to guaranteeing just that:

• Perform an audience analysis early on.   Get a handle on the exact group of people who will  read the document, taking into account their level of technical knowledge and what they will use the document for.
• Interview people from your target audience.  Talk to a few people who belong to your target readers and find out what they will need out of the document first-hand.  If you can, watch them at work with the actual product (even a controlled lab setting will do) to actually see them use it in action.
• Get input from other sources.  Technical writers work with a lot of people, including engineers, operators, editors and other individuals involved with a product.  Input from those sources can prove valuable to ensuring you prepare a document that’s actually helpful and complete.

While there’s no real way to guarantee that you’ll cover everything 100 percent, being diligent with the above matters can lead you to putting together a sufficiently exhaustive document.

Everyone always tell us to know about our audience.   Problem is, with so many individual readers that bear a multitude of qualities each, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what things to take note of when writing for them.

Take a look at this list of characteristics, for instance:

• Age range
• Ethnicity
• Gender
• Education
• Reading skills
• Self-image
• Emotional maturity
• IQ
• Native language
• Family history

Those are just ten things out of maybe hundreds we can come up with.  If you try to take everything into consideration, you’ll likely never get past analyzing your audience.

For purposes of keeping things manageable, it pays to just drill down your audience analysis into several key factors.

1. Needs.  What does your audience need to get out of this particular document?  List down everything you come up with — these are the things you will use to check whether your document achieves its goals.
2. Expectations.  What kind of format will they expect it in?  How much details are they looking forward to dealing with?
3. Beyond those two, we suggest choosing the two or three most significant characteristics the audience shares in relation to the subject.   If it’s an academic paper, then their educational background and field of expertise might be those qualities; if it’s a humorous article, then you might want to consider their age range, self-image and potential attitude towards the topic.

Defining your audience so that you may tailor your writing for them is one of the central tenets of good writing.   Things can get dicey, however, once your audience expands beyond a tight pool of easily-classified individuals.

For examples, say you’re putting  together an online article about website promotion whose main audience is likely to be SEO professionals.  However, you also expect to get views from regular website owners, pay per click marketers, bloggers and similar interested individuals.   How, then, do you adjust the tone, technical level and language of your writing to serve as much of that potential readership?

In such situations, it’s a good idea to classify your target audience into three groups: primary, secondary and most significant.  For the above example, SEO professionals will be the primary audience, while everybody else will be grouped as secondary.   As for the significant part, that will depend on what your goals are for the article.

If your goal is to educate SEO professionals about the specific topic, then you write for them.  You assume things that SEO professionals should know, regardless of whether a PPC guy or a guy selling USB gadgets online will get the reference.

If your goal, on the other hand, is to teach as many people about the topic as possible, then you might want to consider one of the secondary audiences as your most significant one.    That means, making sure they can follow in the discussion by defining terms, explaining SEO concepts and filling in gaps in their knowledge.   Don’t just choose the least-informed, lowest-knowledge reader, though — you have to balance it with the fact that your primary audience might end up alienated if you pander to the lowest common denominator.

One of the first things you should do when writing is to clearly define your audience.  You’re writing the material for them, after all.  Knowing who they are ensures that you do enough to tailor the paper according to their preferences.

There are, generally, four types of characteristics you want to define for your audience.  With all four clearly laid out, you’ll be better able to make the right decisions to effectively communicate your message.

1. Personality.  Define the kind of people are they likely to be, in general.  Are they inquisitive?  Are they in a hurry?  Are they the type of people who pay attention to detail?  Personality can be quite broad, though, so it’s important to zoom in on just the critical details.
2. Attitude.  What’s their likely position on your main thesis?  Are they likely to agree, disagree, or be somewhere in the middle?
3. Circumstances.  What’s their current situation?  Readers can be reading your paper in preparation for entering college, as study material for work or to while away time during commute.
4. Knowledge.  How much do they know about the topic?  You’ll have to write differently for an audience of novices, compared to a readership comprised of experts.

Much has been made about getting to know your audience when you write.    And one of the most important things you can find out about them is the attitude they will take when reading your work.

Before you start writing any draft, always ask yourself, “How will my reader react to this message?”  Will they agree with it intellectually?  Will they cheer it, happy to read an opinion that affirms their own?  Are they going to be offended, insulted or angered by what you’re expressing?

The reader doesn’t need to be in an agreeable mood to make your writing effective.  In fact, they can be opposed to your primary idea and you can still be effective in your communication.  What’s important is to make a reasonable assessment of their likely attitude, so that you can adapt your writing style specifically for it.

Chances are, your job will become more difficult when you’re predicting a negative attitude.  Your writing will, basically, work in opposition with the reader’s more natural inclinations, forcing you to operate against the flow. Don’t let that stop you from making an objective and reasonable assessment, though.  Better work doubly harder to reach the reader than write in a way that will lose their attention immediately.

Good writers write for their audience.  That much is a fact.  But what do we need to know about our readers so that we may tailor our work to effectively communicate with them?

Here are the four most crucial things:

1. Personality.  Are your readers introverted or extroverted?  Are they visual learners, kinesthetic or auditory?  Do they prefer intellectual stimulation over emotional appeals or vice versa?  Knowing these things can tell you how to best reach out to your audience for best results.
2. Attitude.  What’s the audience’s position about the topic when they first read your work and how would they feel about your message? Your approach towards a friendly reader is likely to be different than your approach towards a hostile one.
3. Circumstances.  Where is the reader likely to be when they read your piece?  How is their life like at that moment?  This could very well affect how they take to your work, so visualize how that will turn out.
4. Knowledge.  How much does the reader know about the topic?  If they don’t have much information, you have to fill them in  to bridge the gap.  Don’t assume they’ll know something unless you’re absolutely certain.  Similarly, if you feel like they know more than you, step up to write the piece at their level.

Preparation is key to many writing projects.  And a huge part of preparation involves analyzing your target readers.

The importance of identifying and assessing your audience cannot be stressed too much.   Mapping who your readers are and how you can best communicate with them allows you to tailor every part of your report especially for them.  From the content to the style to the structure, you’ll be able to match whatever  will work best for the readers.

For instance, if you’re writing a report about a medical equipment, your audience can comprise of both engineers (who are interested in the technical aspects of it) and medical professionals (who would like to know how they can use it).  Defining which of those two groups you’re actually writing for will go a long way towards customizing the various aspects of the document.

If you’re not sure how to go about tailoring a report for your audience, here are three of the most basic things to focus on:

1. Keep the discussion on points they will actually care about.  In the above example, there’s little point in listing the different medical procedures that the device can be used if the report is for engineers.  Similarly, expounding on the electronic parts comprising the device isn’t something medical professionals are likely to care for.
2. Explain things that isn’t common knowledge to that audience.  If you must mention a technical detail to an audience of business owners, then add any necessary explanation to make the information accessible to them.
3. Anticipate questions and concerns.  Different types of audiences will have different concerns.  It’s your job to figure those out and make sure they are thoroughly addressed in the piece.

As a writer, it is your job to lead the reader into the conclusion you want to make.  If they embrace your argument, it’s your job well done; if they reject it, it’s your fault.

That’s why it’s hard to fault some writers for being overzealous when it comes to making their point, pushing them into their frame of mind, instead of nudging them over.  Problem is, if you don’t give your audience the respect they deserve, you’ve already lost the game.

Here are some ways you can lead the reader in a tactful, mindful manner:

1. Leave room for interpretation.  Present your facts and make your case, but never claim that any of your conclusions are absolute.  Allow the readers to make up their mind — if you presented a strong case, they’ll come around to your point of view.
2. Use a respectful tone.  Don’t think of a reader like a child you must intimidate into following your orders.  Treat them like an independent person with an independent mind, appealing to their reason while trusting in your own ability to persuade effectively.
3. Don’t make value judgments based on facts you present. At best, doing so makes for faulty logic.  At worst, it’s an insidious strategy to draw relationships where there’s none to make.  It’s transparent and your readers will hate you for trying.
4. Don’t force the reader to take sides.  Some writers make the mistake of assuming the reader agrees with one of their personal opinions and proceeds to write that way.  Unless you’re writing for one person who you’re sure has the exact same sentiments, it’s a guaranteed way to quickly alienate a good portion of your audience.

Many people gloss over the “getting to know your audience” part of their writing.  That’s a huge mistake, because without a clear idea of the position the reader will take, it’s difficult to accurately ascertain how you’re supposed to let your arguments play out.

One way to get a better picture of the audience is to set up a table.  You can do this on a piece of paper or on a spreadsheet in your computer.   All you have to do is make four column headings titled:  Complete Agreement, Some Agreement, Some Disagreement and Complete Disagreement.

For each row, write one main point that you plan to include in the paper.  These can be tentative points, especially if you’re in the early prewriting stages (you can always go back and update as needed).  Even though it’s not 100% final, doing this will give you a good working map of how to proceed.

Aside from the main points, you can use this table to brainstorm evidence, specific arguments and other related issues.    That way, you can get a stronger feel for how your targets readers will respond to each part of your writing, allowing you to delver deeper into certain areas as needed and take it lightly on others.

No matter what you’re writing, it always pays to have a reader in mind during the whole process.  Doing that, not only will your words sound like they’re deliberate communicating with the reader, they’re also likely to flow much easier.  It’s a lot more natural to direct conversation to someone, after all, rather than an abstract image.

This process should be easy when you only have one reader that you know well, such as a professor in a college course or a particular email recipient.  For pieces of writing with a slightly broader audience, however, putting your imagination to use should be very helpful when trying to construct a specific reader.

1. Define the characteristics of your ideal reader.  List down your ideal reader’s knowledge of the topic, the things he needs to know about it, his likely position on your argument and any other characteristic that will play into their reception of your work.
2. Create a mental picture of them as a real person.  Once you have a list, create a mental image of this one reader in your mind.  Imagine your work as a letter you’re writing for that person.
3. Allow that mental image to ask questions and make comments, using it as a guide to decide on various aspects of your work.