Undersanding Your Audience essay

may include vocal inflection, gestures and posture, or rate of speech that influence the interpretation or perception
of your message.
When you say, “Here, have a seat,” do you smile and wave your hand to indicate the empty chair on the
other side of your desk? Or do you look flustered and quickly lift a pile of file folders out of the way? Are
your eyes on your computer as you finish sending an e-mail before turning your attention to your visitor? Your
auxiliary message might be, “I’m glad you came by, I always enjoy exchanging ideas with you” or “I always learn
something new when someone asks me a question.” On the other hand, it might be, “I’ll answer your question,
but I’m too busy for a long discussion,” or maybe even, “I wish you’d do your work and not bother me with your
dumb questions!”
Parts of a Message
When you create a message, it is often helpful to think of it as having five parts:
1. Attention statement
2. Introduction
3. Body
4. Conclusion
5. Residual message
Each of these parts has its own function.
The attention statement, as you may guess, is used to capture the attention of your audience. While it may
be used anywhere in your message, it is especially useful at the outset. There are many ways to attract attention
from readers or listeners, but one of the most effective is the “what’s in it for me” strategy: telling them how your
message can benefit them. An attention statement like, “I’m going to explain how you can save up to $500 a year
on car insurance” is quite likely to hold an audience’s attention.
Once you have your audience’s attention, it is time to move on to the introduction. In your introduction you
will make a clear statement your topic; this is also the time to establish a relationship with your audience. One
way to do this is to create common ground with the audience, drawing on familiar or shared experiences, or by
referring to the person who introduced you. You may also explain why you chose to convey this message at this
time, why the topic is important to you, what kind of expertise you have, or how your personal experience has led
you to share this message.
After the introduction comes the body of your message. Here you will present your message in detail, using
any of a variety of organizational structures. Regardless of the type of organization you choose for your document
or speech, it is important to make your main points clear, provide support for each point, and use transitions to
guide your readers or listeners from one point to the next.
At the end of the message, your conclusion should provide the audience with a sense of closure by summarizing
your main points and relating them to the overall topic. In one sense, it is important to focus on your organizational
structure again and incorporate the main elements into your summary, reminding the audience of what you have
covered. In another sense, it is important not to merely state your list of main points again, but to convey a sense
2.2 Messages 33
that you have accomplished what you stated you would do in your introduction, allowing the audience to have
psychological closure.
The residual message, a message or thought that stays with your audience well after the communication is
finished, is an important part of your message. Ask yourself of the following:
• What do I want my listeners or readers to remember?
• What information do I want to have the audience retain or act upon?
• What do I want the audience to do?
Key Takeaway
Messages are primary, secondary, and auxiliary. A message can be divided into a five-part structure composed of an
attention statement, introduction, body, conclusion, and residual message.
Exercises
1. Choose three examples of communication and identify the primary message. Share and compare with
classmates.
2. Choose three examples of communication and identify the auxiliary message(s). Share and compare with
classmates.
3. Think of a time when someone said something like “please take a seat” and you correctly or incorrectly
interpreted the message as indicating that you were in trouble and about to be reprimanded. Share and
compare with classmates.
4. How does language affect self-concept? Explore and research your answer, finding examples that can serve
as case studies.
5. Choose an article or opinion piece from a major newspaper or news Web site. Analyze the piece according
to the five-part structure described here. Does the headline serve as a good attention statement? Does the
piece conclude with a sense of closure? How are the main points presented and supported? Share your
analysis with your classmates. For a further challenge, watch a television commercial and do the same
analysis.
References
Hasling, J. (1998). Audience, message, speaker. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
34 Business Communication for Success
Approximate price: $22
We value our customers and so we ensure that what we do is 100% original..

With us you are guaranteed of quality work done by our qualified experts.Your information and everything that you do with us is kept completely confidential.You have to be 100% sure of the quality of your product to give a money-back guarantee. This describes us perfectly. Make sure that this guarantee is totally transparent.The Product ordered is guaranteed to be original. Orders are checked by the most advanced anti-plagiarism software in the market to assure that the Product is 100% original. The Company has a zero tolerance policy for plagiarism.The Free Revision policy is a courtesy service that the Company provides to help ensure Customer’s total satisfaction with the completed Order. To receive free revision the Company requires that the Customer provide the request within fourteen (14) days from the first completion date and within a period of thirty (30) days for dissertations.The Company is committed to protect the privacy of the Customer and it will never resell or share any of Customer’s personal information, including credit card data, with any third party. All the online transactions are processed through the secure and reliable online payment systems.By placing an order with us, you agree to the service we provide. We will endear to do all that it takes to deliver a comprehensive paper as per your requirements. We also count on your cooperation to ensure that we deliver on this mandate.