Overview
This lecture discusses the importance of audience analysis in public speaking, the different types of audience analysis, and how to effectively conduct one.
Importance of Audience Analysis
- Audience analysis ensures your content and approach consider the audience's needs and interests.
- Helps establish identification (common ground) between speaker and audience.
- Determines appropriate language level, presentational aids, and topic relevance.
- Essential for effective speech preparation and delivery.
Types of Audience Analysis
- Demographic Analysis: Examines characteristics like age, gender, culture, socioeconomic status, religion, and group membership.
- Demographic data helps tailor strategies for different audience groups but should not lead to stereotyping.
- Attitudinal Analysis: Assesses attitudes, beliefs, values, opinions, and expectations regarding the topic, speaker, and occasion.
- Knowing audience attitudes helps predict reception and adjust credibility-building strategies.
- Situational Analysis: Considers context factors such as audience size, room setup, time of day, and available technology.
- Situational analysis helps plan logistics like microphone use, timing, and visual aids.
Methods for Conducting Audience Analysis
- Observation: Directly observe the audience and environment for clues about demographics and possible distractions.
- Observation can also occur during the speech by reading nonverbal feedback.
- Sampling: Survey the audience with formal (written) or informal (verbal, show of hands) questions before or during the speech.
- Sampling provides immediate, useful data but may have risks if responses are unpredictable.
- General Research: Review published materials or interview potential audience members or organizers for additional insights.
- Organizers or hosts can provide valuable information about audience makeup and expectations.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Audience Analysis — process of gathering and analyzing information about audience to improve speech effectiveness.
- Demographic Analysis — study of audience qualities like age, gender, income, education.
- Attitudinal Analysis — evaluation of audience attitudes, beliefs, and feelings about the topic and speaker.
- Situational Analysis — assessment of the physical context and environment where the speech takes place.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Before your next speech, conduct an audience analysis using observation, sampling, or research.
- Ask organizers for information about audience demographics and setting.
- Adjust your speech content and approach based on your analysis findings.