6. Adapting to the Task and Audience

Adapting your message to the task and audience requires empathy, which means putting yourself in the other person's shoes. Empathic senders consider how the receiver will decode the message and they try to find the most appealing tone and professional language to deliver the message.

Read the following message, and determine if it is sender focused or audience focused.

We want you to come back. If you are satisfied, you'll come back, and we will continue to be profitable. Tell us about your experience, so we can be the best.

Is the preceding message sender focused or audience focused?

Sender focused

Audience focused

Which of the following selections effectively use the "you" view.Check all that apply.

We want you to take full advantage of the professional development workshops we offer.

To encourage attendance at the company BBQ, we will enter your name in the raffle.

Thank you for shopping at FreeLinks. Your order will ship on Saturday.

Your online shopping experience at Toys4Fun should be enjoyable.

Which one of the following selections uses a conversational but professional tone?

The actionable items indicated in the council's corporate conference report demonstrate a particular need for a minimization of organizational dictatorial mandates.

Hi, yeah, why don't you start the PD stuff we talked about.

We are going to take action in response to recent market fluctuations.

Positive and courteous language improves the clarity and tone of your message.

Choose the best revision for the following sentence.

If you take the wrong strategic approach, you will fail.

With the correct strategic approach, you will succeed.

Don't make the wrong choice, or you will mess up your strategy.

Take the right approach, or you'll certainly fail.

An empathic, audience-focused professional will strive to use bias-free language.

Select the most bias-free and grammatically correct choice to complete each sentence.

The are well prepared in case of an emergency.

Every must submit his or her time sheet at the end of the week.

For each pair of the following sentences, identify the selection that best uses plain English and familiar words.

When you are preparing to complete a PO form online, include all pertinent PO information regarding your department before you select Send. Failing to comply with this request may result in lost data and potential complications in your order.

When filling out an online purchase order, complete the form fully before you click Send. Incomplete order forms will not be processed.

Although it may be related to the downturn in the economy, it appears that the product that built our reputation with the public is not selling as well as it did previously. The unfortunate decline has occurred since last May.

Sales of our signature product have declined since May.