Identify Audience audience, both primary and Before preparing your report, you must identify your resources director to whom secondary. In the widener case, the primary receiver is the human human resources staff you will send the report. Secondary readers may be current and future or higher-level managers and perhaps Widener herself. the Audience identification requires more than merely identifying who will receive report. After identifying the primary receiver, try to empathize with that person and identify her or his information and ego needs. If your purpose complements those needs, your writing task s relatively easy. But if your purpose contradicts the receiver's needs, your task becomes more difficult. In such a situation, before you state the main point of your report, you will have to sive enough information to overcome possible objections in the receiver's mind. to Consider again the widener example. One need of the human resources director is be well informed about all personnel issues. You may also know that the director is altruistic that is, desires to help other, and as busy manager, the director likely prefers clear, concise, complete messages that permit immediate action without further clarification. As an effective report writer, you will satisfy all those needs by indicating clearly what you want the director to do, including all necessary information to support that request and excluding unnecessary details. Knowing that the director is altruistic, you might word the request to show that the desired action will help Widener, you, or other employees. Although your first concern is to address the primary reader, recognize also that others may read the report. Even if you and the human resources director are well acquainted, considering the possible secondary readers should prevent you from using an excessively personal or casual tone in the report. The possibility that Widener herself may have access to the report or that it may become evidence in a disciplinary action should also prompt you to avoid emotional or abstract terms. The report must be objective and unambiguous.