Reader-profile questionnaire

That business writing should be centred on the reader’s needs is not exactly earth-shattering news. But putting this maxim into practice is a different matter altogether.

Reader-centred writing

If you’re like most people, you’re much more likely to be focused on your own needs – such as impressing your manager or getting the task of writing the email or report off your to-do list – than on those of your audience. So you need to take definitive action to switch yourself out of this default position.

Nor is it enough to identify the areas of the subject that are going to be most useful to the reader(s). You also need to gauge their likely level of interest. And, of course, if they have very little interest in the subject, you will need to work extra hard to grab and keep their attention.

You can find out more about grabbing and keeping attention on our courses. But for now, you can download our free reader-profile questionnaire to help you focus on the needs of your audience.

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Author: Catie Holdridge

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Catie joined Emphasis with an English literature and creative writing degree and a keen interest in what makes language work. Having researched, written, commissioned and edited dozens of articles for the Emphasis blog, she now knows more about the intricacies of effective professional writing than she ever thought possible.

She produced and co-wrote our online training programme, The Complete Business Writer, and these days oversees all the Emphasis marketing efforts. And she keeps office repartee at a suitably literary level.