Can we avoid writing a text as if we were writing it for ourselves?
From my point of view, it is not that hard. Before answering, I just want to say this: it is true, even very true, that each of us comes with a baggage of knowledge, traditions, and an educational base, all of which are rooted in the environment in which we grew up or activated and which can seriously influence our life course.
However, now I will go into the answer, this information about our DNA can be of use to us to the extent that our information is on the same wavelength as what needs to be written for a target audience.
If our information does not intersect with the way of being of the target audience, it is necessary and mandatory to delimit ourselves from what we believe from what we hear and to put ourselves “belly on the book” to document ourselves. By doing so, we will better understand the target group, its characteristics, and its needs, and we will know what to communicate with them and, especially, what to give them.
And by putting our “belly on the book,” I don’t mean only the theoretical training part, but also the practical training. By this, I mean not only the work performed at a specific job, but the training outside the space in which we work professionally: field research, trying to practice certain services or products, or getting to know some communities of people. That’s the only way we’ll get to understand what we’re writing about.
We have many examples where different communicators made a mistake by putting down a speech made for them, not for the audience.
Very few communicators can understand the public they are addressing, and usually, these are the ones who can get off the pedestal where they were put; they are the ones who manage to see the world more universally, not just through “horse glasses.”.
We believe in what we write!
It is better before writing something, regardless of whether it is simple or complex, to put on paper what we think should be written. Then let’s clearly define the target audience and the products/services we want to offer them. If somewhere in what I wrote something is missing, then try to document yourself as accurately as possible, in theory and practice, and I assure you that your mind will find the answers you need to be as creative as possible.
In addition to this, if you have the opportunity and if you want (and I recommend this practice), work in a team and ask several people about the problem that bothers you, about what you want to do, and especially about what you want to achieve. Ask anyone, from the marketing specialist to the accountant to the janitor.
