Skill #29: Understanding Your Reader (as a Whole)

📣 Special announcement: The Not-Boring Tech Writer team (Kate and Chad) will be at Write the Docs Portland in May. Thanks to KnowledgeOwl's sponsorship, they’ll be wearing KnowledgeOwl and The Not-Boring Tech Writer t-shirts and giving out The Not-Boring Tech Writer stickers. If you're attending WTD Portland this year, please say hi to Kate and Chad, let them know what you think of the show, and swing by the conference swag table to grab some free stickers so you can flaunt your not-boring tech writer status with the world!_____________________________________________One of the most important skills tech writers can have is the ability to analyze their audience—researching who’s using the product their documentation, understanding how they it, and most important, ensuring their goals are reflected in the documentation. But as tech writers research their audience, digging deep into insights such as demographic and preferred device, tech writers can, admittedly, get caught up in the technical side of audience analysis and dismiss opportunities to understand their reader as a whole. That’s why in this episode, we have Alexander Yant on the podcast: occupational therapist turned tech writer advocate who, as he’s searched for tech writing opportunities for himself, has reflected on his career in healthcare to share must-have insights for tech writers hoping to better understand their audience. In this episode, Alexander shares how you can understand your readers as a whole, including why empathy is one of the most important aspects of audience analysis, how tech writers can boost their audience analysis skills, and how effective audience analysis can demonstrate your value as a tech writer.Show Notes: Chris Lam on The Not-Boring Tech WriterBri Hillmer on The Not-Boring Tech WriterAlexander Yant on LinkedIn