Do you know who you’re talking to? Audience Analysis Do you know who you’re talking to?

Audience-Centered Speaker Self-centered speaker – focuses on self “How do I look?” “Am I doing a good job?” Audience-centered speaker – tries to connect with listeners and offer them a purpose or meaningful experience Learn everything you can about your audience

Audience Analysis Analyze – find out who they are and what they know Adapt – adjust material to the listener’s knowledge level and needs

Getting Information about the audience Interviews - simply ask several members (or all if you can) about their backgrounds, interests, and attitudes/beliefs Surveys – can be done for larger audiences Questionnaires (awesome to do for persuasive speeches) – keep them simple!!

Audience Diversity Gender Age Educational background Occupation Religious affiliation Income level Culture

Audience Knowledge What does the audience know about your topic? What do you do if they know a lot (or even more than you)? What do you do if they no little or nothing? What do you do if there is a little of both?

Adapting to your audience Watch for feedback – adjust the speech if you see that people are bored Don’t try to use terms or phrases to “fit in” with your audience Don’t use slang/jargon Be careful of your language choices – don’t offend anyone!