You can improve the effectiveness of both your written and oral business communication by framing your messages in the perspective of your audience — by making them ‘audience-centric.’ An easy way to make messages more audience-centric is to reduce the use of “I” and increase the use of “you” or “we.” To illustrate: instead of saying, “I appreciate your effort”— which describes how the writer/speaker feels — speak directly to the audience and say, “Thank you for your effort.” Audience-centric messages resonate more with readers or listeners, which increases the odds that the message will accomplish its objective.

Patrick Delana, PhD
Coordinator of Business Communication, Boise State University
January 2009