Transcript A Speaker’s guidebook 4th ed

CHAPTER 6
ANALYZING THE AUDIENCE
General Goals / Purposes of Public
Speaking (page 20)
To Inform
 To Persuade
 To Entertain
 To Motivate
 To Mark a Special Occasion

Audience Analysis


Audience Analysis - The process of gathering and
analyzing information about audience members with
the explicit aim of adapting your message to the
information you uncover about them.
Let their interests / background guide you!
Don’t abandon your own convictions to reach your
audience (pandering)
Identify Audience
Attitudes
Beliefs
Values

Identify listener’s disposition


Topic
Speaker
 Incorporate

Identification (audience relevance)
Occasion
 Graduation?
 Class?
 Conference?
Demographic Characteristics
– Gender
–
(page 94)
There is a difference between sex, gender, and
sexual orientation
–
Avoid gender stereotypes, sexist language
– Age
(page 92)
The average age of community college students :
29 years old
– 39% of students are the first generation to
attend college
– 27% of full time students work full time
–
Demographic Characteristics
– Socioeconomic
• Income
• Occupation
• Education
•
factors (page 93)
Higher level of education is associated with open-mindedness
– Group Affiliation
• Religion
•
•
There are more than 2,300 different religious groups in US
Ethnicity
•
•
(page 93-94)
At least 30% of population belong to racial or ethnic minority
Group memberships (Political Affiliation)
Demographic Characteristics

Disability (page 95)
 Over

14% of college students are disabled
Knowledge / interest of subject
Cultural differences
Communication theorists, such as Hofstede and
Lewis, have studied how culture has influenced
behavior patterns and attitudes in different cultural
groups.
A speaker must also consider how the audience
member cultural backgrounds influence how each
may respond to the message.
Techniques for Analyzing your Audience
Interviews
 Surveys or questionnaires
 Observation of audience members on basic
demographic characteristics
 Published sources that have already analyzed
large sample populations based on the six
demographic characteristics.

Analyze the Speech Setting
Size of audience
 Location/physical setting


What equipment will be available?
Time of day
 Length of speech



What is the length of your speech? Other time restraints?
Rhetorical situation/context

What is the occasion of the speech?
What Is Your Speech Setting?
1. Where will you give your speech?
2. How many people will be in the audience?
3. How long should the speech be?
4. What technical equipment will you be using?
5. Where will you stand/sit in the room while giving the
speech?
6. Will other students be speaking? Is this an individual or
group speech?
7. How can you engage or interact with the audience?
8. Are there any special events or circumstances of
concern which you should acknowledge?