Chapter Six

Analyzing the

Audience

Chapter Six

Table of ContentsAdapting to Audience PsychologyAdapting to Audience DemographicsMethods of Gathering InformationAnalyzing the Speech Setting*

Analyzing the Audience

Audience analysis is the process of gathering and analyzing information about your listeners.*

Adapting to Audience Psychology

People tend to evaluate messages in terms of their own attitudes, beliefs, and values, and not the speaker’s.

Psychological factors powerfully affect how audiences are likely to receive and process messages.*

Adapting to Audience Psychology

Attitudes, Beliefs, and ValuesReactions toward the Topic, Speaker,

and Occasion*

Adapting to Audience Psychology:

Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values

Attitudes A predisposition to respond to people,

ideas, and objects in evaluative ways.Beliefs

The ways a person perceives reality to be.Values

People’s most enduring judgments about what’s good and bad in life.*

Adapting to Audience Psychology:

Reactions Toward the Topic, Speaker, and Occasion

Feelings toward the topic: People give more interest and attention

to topics for which they have a positive attitude, and which align with their values and beliefs.

If your audience analysis reveals differences between your attitudes and those of the audience, you should take your audience’s feelings into account.*

Adapting to Audience Psychology:

Reactions Toward the Topic, Speaker, and Occasion

A speaker who is well-liked can gain at least an initial hearing from an audience, even if the listeners are unsure of what to expect in terms of the substance and quality of the message.*

Feelings toward the occasion: People bring different sets of

expectations and emotions to a speech event.

The audience’s attitudes toward the occasion should be one of the speaker’s key considerations in planning and delivering a speech.*

Adapting to Audience Psychology:

Reactions Toward the Topic, Speaker, and Occasion

Adapting to Audience Demographics

Demographics are the statistical characteristics of a given population;for example: Age Gender Ethnic or cultural background Socioeconomic status Religion Political affiliation*

Adapting to Audience Demographics:

Age

Each age group has its own concerns, psychological drives, and motivations.

Awareness to the generational identities of your audience can help you evaluate your topic and the examples you use to support it.*

Adapting to Audience Demographics:

Gender

Gender stereotypes are oversimplified and often severely distorted ideas about the innate nature of men or women.*

Adapting to Audience Demographics:

Ethnic or Cultural Background

Co-culture Social community whose perceptions

and beliefs differ significantly from yours*

Adapting to Audience Demographics:

Ethnic or Cultural Background

Consider Geert Hofstede’s four “value dimensions” when analyzing an audience: Individualism versus Collectivism

Individualistic cultures emphasize the needs of the individual, such as individual achievement and decisions

Collectivist cultures emphasize the needs and identity of the group

High uncertainty versus Low UncertaintyHigher Power Distance versus Lower Power

DistanceMasculine versus Feminine*

Adapting to Audience Demographics:

Socioeconomic Status

Socioeconomic status includes income, occupation and education.

Knowing the socioeconomic status of your audience can be critical in effectively targeting your message.*

Adapting to Audience Demographics:

Religion

Some audience members are deeply devoted to their faiths, while others have few religious convictions.

Do not assume all members of your audience share a Judeo-Christian heritage.*

Adapting to Audience Demographics:

Political Affiliation

A public speaker should never make unwarranted assumptions about an audience’s political values and beliefs.*

Methods of Gathering Information

After you know the kind of information to look for when analyzing an audience, the next step is to actually uncover it.*

Methods of GatheringInformation

The InterviewThe SurveyPublished

Sources*

Methods of Gathering Information:

The Interview

An interview is a face-to-face communication for the purpose of gathering information.*

Methods of Gathering Information:

The Survey

A survey is designed to gather information from a large number of respondents.*

Methods of Gathering Information:

The Survey

Questionnaires are written surveys designed to gather information from a large pool of respondents.

Closed-ended questions elicit a small range of specific answers supplied by the interviewer.

Fixed alternative questions contain a limited choice of answers.

Open-ended questions allow respondents to elaborate as much as they wish.*

Methods of Gathering Information:

Published Sources

Organizations of all kinds publish Web sites, brochures, print articles, annual reports, and industry guides which you can use to learn about your audiences.*

Analyzing the Speech Setting

It is just as important that you know the logistics of the actual speech setting as it is for you to investigate the demographic and psychological characteristics of your audience.*

Analyzing the Speech Setting

Size of Audience and Physical Setting

Time and Length of SpeechSeating Capacity and ArrangementSound and LightingThe Speech Context*

Analyzing the Speech Setting:

Size of Audience and Physical Setting

The size and physical setting in which a speech occurs can have a significant effect on the speech outcome.*

Analyzing the Speech Setting:

Time and Length

Find out how long you are expected to speak; start and end well within your allotted time.

Analyzing the Speech Setting:

Seating Capacity and Arrangement

Investigate seating capacity and arrangement prior to speech.

How will the audience be seated?

Will you be seated or standing?*

Analyzing the Speech Setting:

Sound and Lighting

Lighting should be bright enough for people to easily see the speaker and take notes.

Sound should be loud but not shocking, and clear and crisp.*

Analyzing the Speech Setting:

The Speech Context

Each speech will have its own particular context.

Find out if you will be only one of many speakers, and whether or not the other speakers are more experienced than you.

Be aware of and take into consideration any current events that could distract your audience, such as a local storm or a controversial news event. By being alert to any of these contingencies, you

can address them in your speech.*