Explain the role of adaptation is selecting words that communication.

The ability to write clearly depends not on our audience itself, but on how much we know about our audience. For writing to be clear, it must adapt to the reader. By adaptation we mean fitting the message to the specific reader. Readers even in the same country do not all have the same vocabulary, the same knowledge of the subject or the same mentality because of cultural differences this problem becomes more serious in cross-cultural communications. Thus, to communicate clearly you should first know the person with whom you are communicating. You should be aware of his or her cultural background arid take care to form your message to fit that reader’s mind.

In adapting your message, you should

(i) Identify the Audience: When several people will be receiving your message, try to identify those who are most important to your purpose. Ordinarily, those with the highest organizational status are the key people, but occasionally a person in a relatively low position may have influence in one or two particular areas.

(ii) Determine the Size and Composition of the Audience: Large audiences behave differently from small ones and require different communication techniques. If you were writing a report for wide distribution, you might choose a more formal style, organization, and format than you would if the report were directed to only three or four people in your department. The larger the audience, the more diverse their backgrounds and interests are likely to be. People with different education, status, and attitudes are likely to react differently to the same message, so you look for the common denominators that tie the members of the audience together. At the same time you want to respond to the particular concerns of individuals.

(iii) Analyze the Audience’ Reaction: Your approach to organizing your message depends on your audience’s probable reaction. If you expect a favorable response with very little criticism or debate, you can be straightforward about stating your conclusions and recommendations. On the other hand, when you face a skeptical audience, you may have to introduce your conclusions and recommendations more gradually and provide more proof.

(iv) Determine the Audience’s Level of Understanding: If you and your audience share the same general background, you can assume they will understand your material without any difficulty. If not, you will have to decide how much you need to educate them. In general, you are better off explaining too much rather than too little, particularly if you are subtle about it. If your audience is from another culture, your efforts will be more involved.

(v) Analyze the Audience’s Needs: If you are unknown to your audience, you will have to earn their confidence before you can win them to your point of view. The initial portion of your message will be devoted to gaining credibility. Your status relative to your audience also affects the style and tone of your presentation. You address your peers one way and your boss another. You use still another tone when communicating with employees of lower status and your style with co-workers differs markedly from your style with customers and suppliers.

(vi) Satisfy Your Audience’s Information Need: The key to effective communication is determining your reader’s needs and then responding to them. Ask yourself the following five questions to help you satisfy the audience’s information needs:

-         What does the audience want to know?

-         What does the audience need to know?

-         Have I provided all desired and necessary information?

-         Is the information accurate?

-         Have I emphasized the information of greatest interest to the audience?

(vii) Be Sure about the Reader’s Need: In many cases the audience’s information needs are readily apparent. When dealing with a vague request, pin it down. One good approach is to restate the request in more specific terms to help get the requester to define his or her needs more precisely. Once you’ve defined your audience’s information needs, be certain to satisfy those needs completely. Use the journalistic approach to check whether your message answers who, what, when, where, why, and how to test the thoroughness of your message.

(viii) Be Accurate in Your Message: There is no point in answering all your audience’s questions if the answers are wrong. In business you have a special duty to check things before making a written commitment, especially if you are writing to someone who is outside the company. Your organization is legally bound by any promise you make, so make sure your company is able to follow through. Be sure that the information you provide is accurate and the commitments you make can be kept.

(ix) Make Important Points Stand Out: When deciding how to respond to your audience’s information needs, remember that some points will be of greater interest and importance than others. Pick out the points that will have the most impact on your audience and emphasize them. Remember that your main goal as a business communicator is to tell your audience what they need to know.

(x) Satisfy Your Audience’s Motivational Needs: Some types of messages, pa11icularly persuasive messages and bad news, are intended to motivate audience members to change their beliefs or behavior. The problem is that people resist ideas that conflict with their existing beliefs and practices. To overcome resistance, arrange your message so that the information will be as acceptable as possible. One approach is to use rational arguments presented in an objective tone. Another approach is to support your position with information or statistics.

(xi) Appeal to the Audience’s Emotional Need: Although appealing to reason is often the best approach, you might try convincing your audience by appealing to emotion. Your credibility with an audience depends on their perception of your competence and integrity. People are more likely to believe you if they feel comfortable with you if you have similar backgrounds or friends in common, if you wear the same style of clothes, enjoy the same sports and aspire after the same goals. To establish rapport, you need to emphasize these common denominators. Remember that getting your message across depends as much on your audience’s receptivity as it does on your arguments. Be sure to address motivational needs before you introduce controversial material.

(xii) Satisfy Your Audience‘s Practical Needs: Many in your audience will review your message under difficult circumstances with many interruptions, and they are likely to give it a low priority. So make your message as convenient as possible for your audience. Be brief, Generally speaking, a 5-minute talk is easier to follow than a 30~minute presentation; a two paragraph letter is more manageable than one that‘s two pages long and a two page memo is more likely to be read than a ten-page report.

(xiii) Be Brief: lf your written message has to be long, make it easy for readers to follow so that they can pick it up and put it down several times without losing the thread of what you are saying.