al- WRITING FOR MULTIPLE AUDIENCES 195 ing an'echo chamber, through which public policymakers repeat- edly hear, understand, and retain messages educating them about policies." According to Greenberg and Laracy, the release of one or two reports, even when they represent very good work, is not suf- ficient to create an echo chamber. Rather, you change people's minds through effective social marketing" and by "paying tention to the details of message development" (18). Think about a policy issue that you are currently working on or that happens to be of particular interest to you. If you had as your goal the cre- ation of an "echo chamber" of messages on this issue, what would you do? How would your efforts require you to write for multiple audiences? The economist Alfred Kahn was a central figure in the deregulation movement of the 1970s. As well as being a superb academic econo- mist, he was also a brilliant communicator. McGraw, in his portrait of Kahn and his accomplishments, illustrates the importance Kahn placed on good writing. As chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board from 1977 to 1978, Kahn acquired a reputation for holding his stall to high standards in their written work. McCraw (1984,271) quotes three statements Kahn made to stall at the Board: "May I ask you, please, to try very hard to write Board orders and, even more so, drafts of letters for my signature, in straight- forward, quasi-conversational, humane prose-as though you are talking to or communicating with real people." "If you can't explain what you are doing to people in simple English, you are probably doing something wrong." "I really have certain very profound not only esthetic but philo- sophical objections to people in Government hiding behind a cloud of pompous verbiage which creates a gull between them and the people." Working with a partner, write briel, clear explanations for average citizens of the following concepts: marginal-cost pricing, provider capture, contestability, and opportunity cost. • Over a one-week period, have everyone in your group collect one or more examples of the use of graphics, tables, or diagrams to convey policy-related information. In groups of three, introduce 4-Cbilbin N 2 2.6 PEOPLE SKILLS FOR POLICY ANALYSTS 194 . To extend the influence of your work, you must be prepared to write for multiple audiences. This requires you to tell your basic story in different ways, emphasizing different points to different readers. People with different interests, concerns, and experiences ask different sorts of questions. As long as you tell the same story, it is both ethical and smart to emphasize different points to differ- ent people • Always look for ways to captivate your readers and keep them focused on what you have to say. Potentially, you could use a vari- ety of verbal and visual devices to arrange and augment your writ- ten work; however, you should first familiarize yourself with the conventions of style associated with each audience and tether your creativity accordingly. - You can do a lot to improve your work through self-directed revi- sion, but it is also important to seek critical feedback from others. The best people to give you feedback are those who are familiar with the general subject matter and who know the needs of your target audience. DISCUSSION IDEAS . In reflecting on what he learned as a consultant at McKinsey & Co., Rasiel (1999, 34) described "the elevator test": "Know your solution (or your product or business) so thoroughly that you can explain it clearly and precisely to your client (or customer or in- vestor) in 30 seconds." Rasiel observed that many companies lise the elevator test (or an equivalent, such as one-page memos) to en sure that their executives use their time efficiently. Consider a pro- ject that you are currently working on. Could you pass the eleva tor test with your primary audience? Using three bullet points summarize the study's purpose, approach, and findings. Now con- sider an audience shift. What would your bullet points look like if you had to explain this project to high school students? What about if you had to explain it at an interview for a promotion from • People seeking to influence policy debates need excellent commu- nication skills. In a paper written for advocates of wellare reform, Greenberg and Laracy (2000, 18) noted the importance of "creat- policy analyst to chiel policy analyst? В АЛМАТЫКІТАП ӘДЕБИЕТТІК ОҚУ WRITING FOR MULTIPLE AUDIENCES 191 in work that has direct life and death consequences. Nonetheless, this ex- ample reinforces the importance of looking for data gaps, filling them and presenting your results in ways that both inform and persuade your audience Inviting Discussion Policy analysis should be done to promote discussion, not close it off. When we find effective ways to summarize information and present it to others, we can often provoke dialogue and debate that leads to fresh ways of thinking about policy problems and potential solutions. Here, I have discussed several ways that you can use verbal and visual devices to make it easier for your readers to appreciate the points you seek to make. For any given topic and audience, it is likely that you could use a variety of de- vices to arrange and augment your written work. Try to find ways to cap- tivate your readers and keep them focused on the substance of what you have to say. As you do so, remember that it is best to keep things simple. REVISING AND SEEKING CRITICAL FEEDBACK If you want to write well, you have to be prepared to revise. It is through our elforts to revise our work that we move from writing as thinking to writing as an effort to communicate our thoughts to others. In their manual on writing, Strunk and White (1979, 72) have observed, “Re- vising is part of writing. Few writers are so expert that they can produce what they are after on the first try." Similarly, Mankiw (1996), an econ- omist , has noted the importance of good writing as a means for convey- ing ideas. According to Mankiw, as a writer you should put effort into both getting your substance and your style right. "If you want to sell your substance, you have to worry about your style" (18). Mankiw re- calls asking John Kenneth Galbraith how he had managed to be so SUC- cessful as a popular writer on topics associated with economics and gov ernment policy. Galbraith's response? "He said that he revises everything many times. Around the fifth dralt, he manages to work in the touch of Spontaneity that everyone likes" (18). We can make a lot of progress toward improving our work through sell-directed revisions. Nevertheless, seeking critical feedback from oth- ers can be extremely valuable. Each new set of eyes brings a new set of N 4-сынып PEOPLE SKILLS FOR POLICY ANALYSTS 192 experiences and insights to a piece of writing. The best people to seek feedback from are those who know the substance of the subject we are working on and who also have a good sense of the needs of our audi- ence. This is why managers and other senior colleagues can be so use. ful as sources of feedback and mentoring. Most academics whose work is routinely subjected to the anonymous peer review process used by scholarly journals and publishers know the value of critical feedback. Of course, accepting the criticism of others can be difficult, even when those critiques are offered with the purpose of indicating how your work might be improved. But revising your work along the lines suggested by those who have cared enough to give it a close read will almost always make it better. Sometimes, researchers and policy analysts who are designing new projects take the step of establishing an advisory board. Typically, such entities contain a small but diverse group of people who are asked to serve as critical friends" over the life of the project. As such, these out- siders offer guidance, insights, and feedback to the project team. When it comes to obtaining suggestions on how to present project findings to different audiences, having an advisory board can be very helpful. It is a way to institutionalize-and hence normalize-the seeking and the giv- ing of feedback on work coming out of the project. In general, the more you are able to call on people with appropriate knowledge of the subject matter and the concerns of your target audience, the better able you will be to produce work that is highly valued. Building up relationships of reciprocity with colleagues can be helpful here. After all, we often gain insights into how to avoid pitfalls and make our own work stronger by wrestling with other people's work and taking the time to explain to oth- ers how their work might be improved. SUMMARY Writing well requires effort. This is especially true for professionals who must find ways to communicate with those who do not share their spe cialist knowledge and language. As policy analysts, we draw on the con cepts and techniques of economics, statistics, and the social sciences to interpret the world around us and to produce recommendations for pub- lic policymaking. On the one hand, we conduct conceptual and empir ical investigations that should be of sufficient quality to survive the close Х АЛМАТЫКІТАП ӘДЕБИЕТТІК О- WRITING FOR MULTIPLE AUDIENCES 193 scrutiny of our peers. On the other hand, we must present our conclu- sions to people whose interests, everyday concerns, and ways of think- ing diller greatly from our own. These dual demands require that we find effective ways to present our work to multiple audiences. In reflecting on the difficult task of writing for people who do not share our training and vocabulary, Friedman (1995, 28) has observed, "If I think Con- gressmen, or bankers, or businessmen may be interested in the findings of the research I have been doing ... I have to decide whether I want to convey my ideas to those audiences or not. And if I do, then I know I have to write an account of those ideas directed at the audience I want to reach." The more effort you make to write so you will be clearly un- derstood by your target audiences, the more influence you will have on public policymaking Like any skill, the ability to write well comes with deliberate prac- tice. In this chapter, I have emphasized the importance of adjusting both the substance and the style of your writing to meet the needs of your au- dience. Thinking of your writing from the perspective of your readers will help you to convey your message. Different audiences care about different things. Obvious as that point might seem, it is surprising how often policy analysts misjudge their readers. A colleague once said to me, "First, write what you want to say for yourself and for the other analysts around here. Then put it in cartoon form for the politicians." Although condescending toward politicians, this comment captures the audience problem policy analysts must wrestle with as they write. SKILL-BUILDING CHECKLIST . Everything you write presents new opportunities for others to judge your professional worth. Treat writing as an exercise in man- aging your reputation * At the start of any writing task, clarify whom you are writing for When you write with a specific audience in mind, you are better able to make appropriate choices about what is worth investigat- ing and reporting on and what matters can be ignored. • The best way to impress your readers is to answer their questions Try to anticipate the questions that your readers will ask. The start- ing point for gaining the confidence and respect of your readers is to find out how they think and what information they require. 4-Cbilbin 22-60 PEOPLE SKILLS FOR POLICY ANALYSTS 186 audience, used inappropriately these devices can distract or disorient your readers Making Your Structure Visual You can make the structure of a policy report visual in a number of ways. Here are some basic verbal devices that you can employ to help your readers quickly grasp the overall purpose and design of your report First, when you include an executive summary, make sure that the key components of your argument are presented in parallel to the structure of the report itsell. Second, you should state in the executive summary how the report is structured, even numbering the sections if doing so would make it easier for your readers to navigate the report. Third, the sequence of your recommendations should also follow the same se quence in which they are discussed in the report. Fourth, when your re- port is long, a table of contents at the beginning will help guide the reader. Finally, you should always make clear and consistent use of head- ings and subheadings throughout your text, to help your readers relate each element of the work to the overall story Diagrams can also add considerably to the structuring of your writ- ing. As policy analysts, we often study and discuss complex systems. Thus, taking the time to represent those systems visually can enable your readers to comprehend them more readily. These diagrams need not be complex. In fact, simplicity is preferable. Writing on this general topic, Tufte (1983,51) has observed, "Graphical excellence is that which gives the viewer the greatest number of ideas in the shortest time with the least ink in the smallest space." A few years ago, a colleague and I wrote a proposal calling for bet- ter integration of the research, teaching, and outreach work of faculty at our university. We believed that this could best be achieved through the creation of a policy institute on campus. After some discussion, we de cided that it would make sense to add a diagram to our proposal. We used this diagram both to convey our sense of the linkages between re search and policymaking and to help us structure our argument. I have reproduced that diagram as figure 8-1. Though simple, the diagram of fers a visual summary of a more complex argument. Often, simple dia grams placed near the beginning of a policy report can help familiarize your audience with the focus of your argument. - АЛМАТЫКІТАП ӘДЕБИЕТТІК ОҚУ WRITING FOR MULTIPLE AUDIENCES 187 Basic Research Applied Policy Research and Evaluation Research Brokerage Policy Design, and Implementation Development Scrategic opportunities for the institute that will • Strengthen research capabilities • Enhance state and national scholarly reputation of faculty • Improve faculty ability to attract extramural research grants Related opportunities for the institute that will • Strengthen the intellectual and empirical foundations of state policymaking Figure 8-1. Portraying How Research Informs Public Policymaking Using Matrices Matrices are tables in which column and row items are systematically re- lated. As such, they can be used to portray a vast variety of relationships. For example, they can be used to summarize such things as the differ- ences among agencies in meeting various performance criteria, who will do what in a project team, and the differing interests and resources of individuals and groups embroiled in a public dispute. In figure 8-2,1 show how a matrix can be used to summarize the sequencing of the data collection and analysis portion of a policy project. Task Time period May- July- June August Jan- March- Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Feb April 1. Identify cases 2. Contact cases 3. Data collection phase I 6. Data collection, phase 11 5. Data analysis 6. Meet advisors 7 7. Project management . Continuous → Figure 8-2. Portraying a Project Time Line 4-Cbilbin 2 2.60 PEOPLE SKILLS FOR POLICY ANALYSTS 188 Using Tables As we conduct policy analyses, we frequently end up working with datasets and generating a variety of tables containing summary statistics , regression results, and simulations. When it comes to writing policy re ports and research papers, we need to exercise judgment in deciding how to present our numerical findings. Because this work often takes a lot of time, it is easy to be tempted into sharing too much of it with our audience. This can be dangerous. Verdier (1984) has suggested that, in advising politicians, you should "emphasize a few crucial and striking numbers." He observes, Congressmen love numbers, but not in the same way economists do. Congressmen look for a single striking number that can encap- sulate an issue and can be used to explain and justify their position, They have little use for endless columns and rows of unassimilated data. One good number can be worth pages of analysis. (432) I believe that, in the course of their work, policy analysts should seek to extract all relevant insights from available information. I also believe that policy analysts should be willing and able to collect and analyze new in- formation, when such an effort is called for and the project budget and time frame allow it. Yet as a reader, I have little tolerance for working through pages of tables, and I think many other readers share this dis- position. It is fine to engage in sophisticated and complex analytical work, but when it comes to presenting that work to your audience. I urge minimalism-or, in Tufte's (1983, 191) words, "the clear portrayal of complexity. Consider this example. Beginning in the 1960s, a number of econ omists in the United States began to conduct detailed investigations of the effects of fare and route regulation on the operation of the airline in dustry. These studies soon established that an airline cartel existed in the United States and further, that this cartel was supported by the policies of the Civil Aeronautics Board. The Board regulated all routes that crossed state lines In 1975, as public criticism of the Civil Aeronautics Board began to grow, a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, chaired by Edward M. Kennedy, subjected the actions of the Board to close scrutiny. The work of this subcommittee paved the way for subsequent deregulation of the airlines. At the subcommittee hearings АЛМАТЫКІТАП ӘДЕБИЕТТІК ОҚУ WRITING FOR MULTIPLE AUDIENCES 189 City-pairs Table 8-1. Portraying the Effects of Airline Regulation on Fares Miles Fare ($) 338 18.75 339 38.89 335 37.96 191 13.89 490,000 191 24.07 2,493.882 192 25.93 312,811 Note: This table originally appeared in U.S. Congress (1975). I have reproduced it from McCraw (1984, 267). CAB denotes a flight regulated by the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board, No. of passengers 7,483,419 1,424,621 975,344 Los Angeles-San Francisco Chicago-Minneapolis (CAB) New York-Pittsburgh (CAB) Houston-San Antonio Boston-New York (CAB) Reno-San Francisco (CAB) Kennedy presented a simple table, which I have reproduced (table 8-1). According to McCraw (1984, 266), this table served as the "clincher" in Kennedy's case against the Board. It effectively portrayed the stark differ- ences in fares on flights regulated by the Civil Aeronautics Board and flights of equivalent length operating within states, beyond the Board's reach. The broader issues surrounding airline deregulation were complex, but the authors of this table were able to cut through that complex- ity. Here, relevant information was presented in a clear and compelling fashion. When using tables to summarize numbers, your primary goal should be to meet the needs of your audience as simply and clearly as possible. Using Graphics Good graphic displays can also help you to summarize important rela- tionships quickly for your audience. In a series of books on the display of information, Tufte (1983, 1990, 1997) has provided many excellent ideas that policy analysts could apply in their work. Likewise, Miles and Hu- berman (1994) have introduced and discussed a variety of approaches to presenting qualitative data. To underscore the potential value of such displays, here I provide a led to the fatal launch in 1986 of the Challenger space shuttle, Vaughan striking example. In her analysis of the decision-making process that (1996) portrays the relationship between the air temperature at the time of the shuttle launches and the incidence of thermal distress to the O-rings that sealed the rocket joints. In figure 8-3, I have reproduced the main elements of Vaughan's portrayal of that relationship. This figure 4-сынып 22 190 PEOPLE SKILLS FOR POLICY ANALYSTS Plot of shuttle flights with and without O-ring thermal distress as function of temperature No. of Incidents 1 0 45 50 55 75 60 65 70 Calculated Joint Temperature. "F 80 85 Flights with no incidents Figure 8-3. Portraying the Relationship Between Temperature and Thermal Distress Note: Thermal distress defined as O-ring erosion, by-blow, or excessive heating. This chart is a simplified rendition of that presented in Vaughan (1996,383) indicates that when all shuttle missions prior to the fatal launch were considered a strong correlation between O-ring anomalies and tempera- ture appears. To quote Vaughan, "of the flights launched above 65°F three out of seventeen, or 17.6 percent had anomalies. Of the flights launched below 65°F, 100 percent had anomalies" (382). Prior to the fatal Challenger launch, some engineers expressed con- cern about the effects of cold temperature on the O-rings. In spite of this concern, no effort was made to plot the relationship in a manner that in- cluded the flights with no incidents. Without including these data, no obvious relationship can be detected between temperature and O-ring damage . I mention this example because it represents an instance where relevant information was available to the people involved, yet nobody thought to summarize it in the way that it is presented in figure 8 Vaughan has argued that this analytical oversight occurred because of ora ganizational conformity. "It can truly be said that the Challenger launch decision was a rule-based decision. But the cultural understandings. rules, procedures, and norms that always had worked in the past did not work this time" (386). Fortunately, policy analysts usually do not engige В АЛМАТЫКІТАП ӘДЕБИЕТТІК ОҚУ
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