What steps would you take to ensure that the purpose of your message (whether informative, negative, or persuasive) is conveyed to your readers?
I would ask them 1) if they had any questions about what had been said; 2) to synthesize what they had understood.
As GuruBlue has indicated, you need some response from your readers. Getting them to summarize what you said in their own words or having them give some examples to illustrate what you have said might also be helpful. I think that might be included in GuruBlue's term, "synthesize."
I hope this helps a little more. Thanks for asking.