Rhetoric
Descriptor - Audience analysis; ability to adapt communication to context and purpose; rhetorical problem solving; cultural interpretation; reflective practice; disciplinary history
I pride myself on my ability to change my tone and strategy depending on who I am addressing. I have been in a computer support position for ten years, during which time I have supported both PhD's and office support staff. The increase in technology in the past ten years has produced a work force that has an extreme variance in computer ability. Some faculty members embrace technology while others shun it, yet all have to deal with it in some way. I get to know my customer's abilities by spending time with them and observing their comfort level with email, Blackboard, the internet, and their own choice of software. But, as any parent knows, communicating with PhDs is not nearly as challenging as communicating with children. It is my children who have taught me the most about communicating for the appropriate audience. Strategies that work for a four year old do not work for a two year old. A parent must constantly find new tactics of communication as his or her children learn and grow. My experience with varying technological abilities of PhDs has been invaluable in learning to adjust my approach when addressing my children!
This reader analysis was a precursor to a project I undertook at the request of my academic adviser at NJIT. Dr. Coppola asked me to redesign the MS·PTC program website. The reader analysis shows my understanding of the audience for the website proposal and final project. I have come to believe in the years since I attained my degree in technical communication, that a reader analysis is an essential component when writing for an audience.
In writing a proposal to initiate funding for image storage in my department I needed to be very aware of my audience. The subject matter was technical, but the audience, also known as the decision maker, or funder, was not technical. I blended technical terms with metaphors and laymens terms.