Task and Audience Analysis Worksheet

Use this worksheet every time you begin a new writing task, whether its a simple e-mail or a 20-page
proposal. After a time, youll begin to write for these goals intuitively, and you may not need this
worksheet anymore.

Task Analysis (a.k.a. Goals Analysis)

Main Task Goal:
To communicate in writing with my supervisor about an employee who is consistently causing
issues.

Secondary Task Goals (check all that apply):

Reinforce my image with my supervisor/other superiors
Contribute to my long-term professional goals
o What are those goals? 1. Be seen as someone who takes their job as assistant manager
seriously; 2. To eventually be promoted as head manager; 3. To help the employees by
making their work schedule easier without having to constantly work extra hours for
someone.
Promotes the goals and priorities of my organization
o What are those priorities? 1. To make the retail establishment look professional; 2. Help
the company with their choices of employment; 3. Make the business less stressful to
work in.

Audience Analysis
Primary Audience: Secondary Audiences:

Main stakeholders: My Supervisor Audience 1: District Manager

Whats in it for this audience? Positive: This could
help us get more customers if we can replace this
employee with a better individual. Con: Depends
on how simple it would be to replace this
employee. Do we have enough staff to replace
this employee without disrupting business?
Age/generation: Gen X
Economic status: Middle Class
Cultural/ethnic/religious background: Caucasian;
Christian
Gender: Male
Educational level: Bachelors Degree
Audience 2: Human Resources Director
Audience 3: Employee being disruptive.
Whats in it for these audiences? Human
Resources Director: It would impact them
because they are trusting the choices of the
District Manager; D.M.: It would impact them
because they are trusting the decisions of the
supervisor; Employee: It would impact them
negatively because they are the one being fired.
Age/generation: Gen X; Millennial
Economic status: Upper middle class
Cultural/ethnic/religious background(s): All
Caucasian; Presbyterian; Catholic; Catholic
Gender: D.M.: Male H.R. Director; Female
Employee: Male
Educational level: Bachelors Degree; Graduate
School
Where from/where living: Philadelphia, Where from/where living: All in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
Role/status in organization: Supervisor Role/status in organization: District Manager;
Human Resources Director; Retail Employee
Political views: Conservative Political views: All Liberal
Values/things they care about/things theyre Values/things they care about/things theyre
interested in: The success of the retail interested in: H.R. Director: Responsible for the
establishment. smooth performance of a companys human
resources department; District Manager:
Responsible for the performances of all stores.
Employee: Keeping their job at the retail
establishment and helping out customers when
they need it.
Problems/Challenges: No new employee to be Problems/Challenges: The retail establishment
hired anytime soon. going bad could impact both H.R. Director and
District Management because their job is to make
sure every store runs smoothly; The employee
could get fired and have issues looking for a new
job.
Leadership style: They like to weigh the pros and Leadership style: Being able to manage over the
cons out. supervisor and then being able to trust them on
their decisions (delegate).
Decision-making style: Directive; Acts as a mentor
to those beneath him.
Openness to new ideas: Normally is supportive of Openness to new ideas: H.R. Director & District
new ideas that could benefit the company better; Management: Bot are normally traditional and
Also very assertive and traditional. It is a mix of very assertive when it comes to new ideas.
both. Depends on the idea and what it could
potentially outcome.
Questions about Primary Audiences Personality Quirks
Confrontation style: Usually very easy to open up to and confront.
Sensitivity level: Sensitive to staff and employees needs.
Emotional personality: Very mellow and does not have a high temper.
Sense of humor: Down to earth; Genuine; Not sarcastic
Prejudices: Cares about the success of the business.
Questions about Primary Audiences Communication Style/Preferences
Preferred communication method: Email
Preferred style of explanations: He prefers a very direct and clear style of explanations.
Best time of day to approach: He responds to emails anytime of the day, preferably in the morning
before his day starts.
Hot buttons: Dealing with difficult employees or staff.
Questions about Primary Audiences Relationship to Subject
What does he/she know about subject: He definitely has an understanding of how negatively this
employees characteristics are impacting the company.
How does he/she feel about subject: He is very open to doing whatever is necessary in order to
benefit the business.
What is his/her attitude toward innovation/progress: His attitude toward change is follow through
with the idea of firing the terrible employee and getting a replacement.
Does he/she prefer to originate ideas: He is very traditional when it comes to ideas for a company. All
of his ideas are pretty original yet traditional.