Who's your audience?

Any effective communication requires answering two basic questions before you start to write:

• Who are you trying to communicate with?
• What are you trying to get them to do?

Then tailor your memo, email or other message so they -- your intended audience -- understand it.

That last bit is where many companies fail, especially those in technology. Their copywriters and marketing communications consultants are so sophisticated in tech stuff, they think the average office worker is, too. Not so, as a UK tech survey reported in the BBC found:

• Three quarters of workers waste more than an hour a week deciphering what a technical term means

• Terms like jpeg, javascript and cookies are among the problem words

• Younger workers are just as likely to be confused by computer language

Computer People recruiters, which questioned 1,500 workers, says effective technology professionals must "understand the need to tailor their levels of jargon." In other words, as I've been saying for years, write clearly and keep it simple.

Thanks, Lifehacker, for the link.