Response to Sam Pruitt's Chapter 3 blog

I can relate to Sam's blog on chapter three. I too generally write from my perspective supporting my ideas with factual evidence. The idea of writing from a "you" perspective will definitely be challenging. Sam asked if anyone had some advice on how to practice/improve the skills of writing to achieve a certain outcome. Other than practice, the best advice I can give is to get to know your readers. This comes from guideline #7 in the text. You don't always have an opportunity to do this, but you can talk with your fellow employees. I call this networking and it has proven to be a very valuable technique. Your coworkers often know bits and pieces of information about people that you will be writing to. This has helped me to write effectively. You can also take the opportunity to write to your coworkers with a "you" perspective and look for their responses. Still, sometimes you will not get an opportunity to know your readers very well. This happens to me often when I am writing to a customer whom I have never met. Which brings me to my question. In the business world sometimes you do not have time to get to know your reader and you are still responsible for writing effectively. What can you do when there isn't sufficient time to research your readers? Do you just draw on past experience and hope for the best?