Writing Tips for a Diverse Audience

Today, at ProEdit's technical writing course at SPSU, the following question was asked:

"What can you do if the audience you are writing for includes a mix of nonspecialists, technicians, and experts?"

Jacque Henson, ProEdit's Manager of Information Development, offered these great tips for addressing the challenge:

1. State which audience you are addressing in the heading of each section. Make the headings bold so they're easy to see.
2. Create modules. This introduces the flexibility to proceed quickly and skip sections.
3. Include navigational aids, like a table of contents, site map, appendix, and a list of figures and captions.
4. Use examples. This will help the novice apply the new information in a real-world setting and allow advanced users to confirm their knowledge. 
5. Include graphics.

What are your tips for addressing this issue?

What do you know about my company?

This is a common question to ask a candidate during an initial interview. Most candidates are able to give in-depth details about their most recent employers but cut corners on researching new employers or recruiting firms. USA TODAY Snapshots reported "little knowledge of company" as the most common mistake candidates make during job interviews. Letting a recruiter fix this mistake will have a measurable payoff.

ProEdit recruiters make it their business to understand how your company operates and which strategies are being implemented to improve profitability. We use this specialized knowledge to evaluate potential candidates in our database and prepare each qualified candidate for an in-depth interview with your hiring manager. It’s a ProEdit best practice that ensures candidates have an accurate understanding of the job requirements, performance expectations, and work environment before accepting a job offer. Your payoff comes as the result of a shortened recruiting cycle and a lower turnover rate.

Little or no knowledge of your company is a mistake ProEdit will never make.

What do you know about ProEdit?

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