In writing, your audience is an important consideration. Before you write anything, you should consider exactly who will be reading your work. Audience is defined as your readers for each piece of writing, and you may need to change writing styles slightly to capture the interest of different types of audiences.

Sometimes, especially in school settings, the concept of audience may not be clearly defined on a writing assignment. Are you writing to please the teacher, yourself, or your fellow students? Asking a teacher to define your audience is an excellent way to figure out how to express yourself.

For example, one question that frequently comes up in student papers is whether you can assume the reader will have some knowledge about your subject. If you can assume the audience will have read the material, or is conversant in the subject you’re discussing, this tells you that you can be more technical, and may not need to briefly summarize or define your topic prior to getting into details. On the other hand, if you’re introducing a new concept or a new idea, with which the audience is not familiar, brief summaries and explanations may be required to make your ideas clear.

Unpracticed writers often have the idea that there is only one way to express themselves, through very scholarly and verbose language. While for some audiences, like a group of Deconstructionists, this may be the best means to communicate, but for most audiences, including teachers, clear simple language is the best way of making your point. Most modern writing, except in graduate scholarly levels, should aim for clear expression, easy to understand words, and really should resemble a slightly more formal mode of expression than talking. Students often assume that a lofty writing style will earn them points with a peer or teacher audience, when it usually has the opposite effect.

People who have not had a lot of writing experience frequently make this mistake in business too. Whether you’re writing a memo, an employee review, a cover letter, or a business email, you should write to your audience. In most cases your audience is likely to be someone like you, with about the same level of education. Using huge words and long sentences may not serve you well.

Novelists and poets often are only successful in so far as they can write to a defined audience. For example, the Harry Potter books were written in such a way that they would appeal to young readers. J.K. Rowling could have written the books for a more adult audience, and the books do contain elements that greatly appeal to adults, yet the language choices she makes also greatly appeal to kids and make the books accessible to young readers. Her choices in subject matter, use of humor, and creativity are all examples of Rowling’s understanding of the audience.

Knowledge of audience, and knowing what your audience expects is often related to the Greek term kairos. Loosely defined, kairos means knowing what to say and when to say it. It implies a sense of good timing and an understanding about the portion of society, however small, that you want to address. Kairos was a key term in teaching rhetoric and speech in ancient Greece because it helped young writers learn how to read an audience and understand how best to appeal to that audience.

From the Greek perspective, and in many modern writing classes, you can’t simply write but must also learn how the world works. Words are powerful things that can either inspire or disgust a reader, or completely fail to communicate what you want. They do have to be chosen with care. Ultimately, understanding an audience is about understanding the person or people who will read your work. It means writing not only to satisfy you, but also to satisfy, thrill or fulfill others.