Six Reader-Centered Strategies You Can Begin Using NowDespite the many ways readers' goals, concerns, feelings, and likely responses can vary from situation to situation, readers approach most on-the-job communications with several widely shared aims and preferences. The following list briefly introducesSix Reader-Centered Strategies You Can Begin Using Now15several reader-centered strategies you can begin using immediately that address these common aims and preferences. All are discussed more fully in later chapters. Many are illustrated in the web page and memo shown in Figures 1.3 and 1.4.Begin by identifying the specific task your readers will perform using your communication. Develop enough detail to understand how they will proceed. If the task is a proposal, what criteria will they apply? If the task is to perform a procedure, what level of detail will the readers need concerning the steps to be performed?Identify the readers' attitudes that are relevant to the communication. Imagine how much more effectively Patrick could have written the subject line of his email-as well as its contents-if be had thought about the way the personnel manager's irritation might shape the manager's response to his recommendation.Help your readers quickly find the information needed to perform their tasks. State your main points at the beginning rather than the middle or end of your communications. Use headings, topic sentences, and lists to guide your readers to the specific information they want to locate. Eliminate irrelevant information that can hide what your readers want.Highlight the points your readers will find to be persuasive. Present the information your readers will find more persuasive before you present the information they will find to be less persuasive. Show how taking the actions you advocate will enable them to achieve their own goals. When selecting evidence to support your arguments, look specifically for items you know your readers will find to be credible and compelling.Trim away unnecessary words, use the active voice, and put action in your verbs. The most basic way you can make a communication useful to your readers is to ensure that the readers can readily understand what the communication is saying. In an early and important test of the effectiveness of eliminating unnecessary words, and using the active voice, researchers James Suchan and Robert Colucci (1989) created two versions of the same report. The high-impact version used the techniques. The low-impact one did not. The high-impact version reduced reading time by 22 percent, and tests showed that readers understood it better.Talk with your readers. Before you begin work on a report or set of instructions, ask your readers, "What do you want in this communication? How will you use the information it presents?" When planning the communication, share your thoughts or outline, asking for their reactions. After you've completed a first draft, ask for their feedback.If you cannot speak directly with your readers, learn about their likely responsessummerize point number 4.