Using the questions in Figure 4.4, write a brief analysis of the audience for each of the following communication tasks. What kind of reaction should you expect from the primary reader and any secondary readers? What tone should you convey?

1. As an administrator at the municipal water department, you must write a letter to water users explaining that the tap water may taste and smell bad; however, it poses no threats to health.

2. As a new graduate, you are preparing a cover message to accompany your rsum for a job that you saw listed on a company website. You are confident that your qualifications match the job description.

3. You are about to send an e-mail to your regional sales manager describing your visit to a new customer who is demanding special discounts.

4. As a tech employee of TOMS, you have just returned from your first Giving Trip. You visited a small California town and worked with TOMS' sharing partner Save the Children to further its charity work. You were able to give free shoes and socks to needy, grateful children, some of whom lived in homes without electricity or plumbing. Now you are inspired to share what you learned about giving by writing a short article for the TOMS blog.

5. You are planning to write an e-mail to your manager to try to persuade her to allow you to attend a computer workshop that will require you to leave work early two days a week for ten weeks.

6. You are preparing an unsolicited sales message to a targeted group of executives promoting part-time ownership in a corporate jet plane.

Figure 4.4 Asking the Right Questions to Profile Your Audience Primary Audience Secondary Audience Who is my primary reader or listener? What are my personal and professional relationships with this person? What position does this person hold in the organization? How much does this person know about the subject? What do I know about this person's education, beliefs, culture, and attitudes? Should I expect a neutral, positive or negative response to my message? Who might see or hear this message in addition to the primary audience? How do these people differ from the primary audience? Do I need to include more background information? How must I reshape my message to make it understandable and acceptable to others to whom it might be forwarded