Lately I have been realizing the importance of understanding your audience. The things I had learned during English 301 have been reappearing more frequently; ethos, pathos... My last assignment REALLY emphasizes the importance of knowing your audience- I am to read over materials that all relate to an article Sandra is writing for "The Water We Drink" on the topic of WARN--Water/Wasewater Agency Response Networks.
I am to read the documents and come up with some questions that I might have about WARN if I were a small community official, like a mayor, council member, or water board member who had oversight responsibility for the water or wastewater utility.
One of the challenges with WARN is convincing these local officials to support their water/ww utility's membership in WARN. For example, some utilities might not be able to join unless their local leaders know about WARN, clearly understand the benefits of joining and what's expected. So, if I were one of those officials, what would I want to know about WARN? The more questions I come up with the better, they will help shape the focus and direction of the article for Sandra.
One of the documents is an article by our editor/writer Natalie "Being Prepared Before the Next Disaster Strikes." It's a great article and Sandra will probably borrow some of the info from it, but our focus will be on convincing the local official to take action, (1) getting them to engage their water/ww utility staff and discuss WARN, (2) facilitating and supporting the utility's involvement in WARN.
I have to be extremely well versed in the content of these materials and really put myself in the shoes of some that this may effect. It is a fun exercise that will definitely help focus the purpose of Sandra's writing.
I'm intrigued about this passage from your blog post:
ReplyDelete"I am to read the documents and come up with some questions that I might have about WARN if I were a small community official, like a mayor, council member, or water board member who had oversight responsibility for the water or wastewater utility."
What specifically do you do in order to get inside the mind of a mayor, council member, or water board member? Do you perform certain kinds of research? If so, what types of sources do you consult? Do you interview people? Who do you talk to and what kinds of information do you try to gather from these interviews? Do you try other things to gain this insight? How does these strategies inform the brainstorming / strategizing that you're then able to do?