CHAPTER 6ANALYZING THE AUDIENCE

General Goals / Purposes of Public Speaking (page 20)

To InformTo PersuadeTo EntertainTo MotivateTo 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

AttitudesBeliefsValues

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 factors (page 93)

• Income• Occupation• Education

• Higher level of education is associated with open-mindedness

– Group Affiliation (page 93-94)

• Religion• There are more than 2,300 different religious groups

in US• Ethnicity

• 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?