I just finished a letter of support for a colleague of mine. It wasn't had to figure out what to say; I know my colleague and how I feel about him and his job performance. The challenging part was that the primary audience for this letter was the board members. I've met most of them, but know none of them. How can you craft an effective message when you are unfamiliar with your audience. I teach the importance of audience analysis to my students. What I fail to teach them is what to do when you don't have access to audience information.
I suppose I ended up doing what I teach by basing my assumptions on the best available information. I only wish I could have more carefully adapted my message as a man's career hangs in the balance. I'm not so arrogant as to think my letter will make the difference, but I can hope that a few well crafted letters might bring about enough doubt to alter the verdict in favor of another chance.
A few more days and we shall see what good a thoughtful letter can do. I wonder if anyone is even bothering to read them at this point...
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